I'm writing this from my office with tears streaming down my cheeks. I had learned of Gerry's death last night in a call from my ex-husband, Joe Hickerson. Reading these tender tributes makes the sad news fresh again.

Gerry and George's "Simple Gifts" recording was one I discovered around about 1971, shortly after Sandy and Caroline helped me discover this wonderful folk music community. I went to the Grand Rapids, Michigan, public library looking for folk music recordings, and found this one. I played it and played it, checking it out from the library on a regular basis until I practially knew all the songs by heart. I would not meet Gerry and George for another few years, but their warmth and love of this music -- and of the wider community of singers and sources -- was tangible even when played from a well-worn record on a cheap Sears turntable with a needle that had surely turned over its first 10,000 miles. Their liner notes helped open a window on a world that I would grow to love more and more with the passing years.

So thank you, Gerry, and farewell, with sadness and love. Kathy