**Update: Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who donated to make our celebration happen. We couldn't be more grateful for the wonderful community that has helped to make this happen. Any additional funds will be donated to a few different organizations that Richard regularly supported, including the SF Aids Foundation & Shanti Project.**

On July 26, 2025 we lost the shining sunbeam that was Richard Lee Mason. He was a sunflower of pure joy, a disco ball of excitement, a statue of social justice, a sleek black sweater-wearing icon, a glowing beacon of resilience, a lover of arts & culture, an avid community thrifter, a forever adventurer, a beloved silly uncle, and a friend to quite literally everyone.

He wrote poetry, studied various religions, frequented museum exhibits, marveled at theatre & music performances of all genres, and had endless curiosity. He thrived as a banquet server at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco for over 50 years, charming former presidents, first ladies, celebrities and the like. He cared deeply about the lives and families of waiters, security guards, nurses, bartenders, neighbors, bus drivers and passers-by in his community. He was a white wine, honey ham and Lay’s chips connoisseur. He celebrated Japanese art, First Nations jewelry, SF Castro Queer joy, African carved statues and the beauty of San Francisco. 

This is a drop in the bucket of the magnificent person he was and always will be. I am forever grateful and infinitely blessed to have had him in my life. To be able to call him my uncle is one of the greatest honors of all time. The love, support and kindness he had for this world and the people who live in it will carry on through all of us who were lucky enough to know him. 

Thank you, Uncle Richard, for the advice you gave, the joy you embodied and the love & light that you spread. 

———————

Annette (close friend of 35yrs) and I are planning a Celebration of Life in honor of Richard Lee Mason on November 2nd, 2025 in his favorite place, San Francisco. In order to pay for the rental space & refreshments, we are asking that anyone who feels called to help please do so by donating to our GoFundMe.

I’ve listed our budget breakdown below. 

Rental space - $1200 (1hr set-up, 2.5hr event, 0.5hr clean-up; 4hrs total)

Beverages - $250

Light appetizers - $175

Plates / Glasses / Napkins - $75 

Total: $1700.00

Anyone who is interested in attending the Celebration of Life event and would like to get more information, please reach out to me via phone or Facebook. We hope to accommodate as many people as want to join! We can’t wait to gather with those who were near and dear to Richard, to share stories and celebrate the brilliant life he lived with the beautiful people he surrounded himself with.

We can't thank you enough for helping us reach our goal - life is nothing without community!

Love,

Samantha & Annette