JAZZ LEGEND REMEMBERED: Richard (Rick) Gee, 79, died on Saturday, March 1st. He was an individual known to pursue his life goals with enthusiasm and purpose. Educated and with degrees in Credit and Financial Management, Rick worked on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Aide and while there was called to serve in the U. S. Army. He retired in 1986 from Ciba-Geigy Corp. of New York as a Senior Credit Administrator. Rick moved to St. Petersburg in 2003 and soon joined the board of the Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association and served as publicity chairman. It was not long before he was asked to become president as his love for jazz brought an additional verve to the organization. He served as president until his yearning to create his own entity for promoting jazz inspired him to form Rick Gees Jazz Jamm reminiscent of jazz jams he once had in his home in New Jersey. He also joined the Board of the Sarasota Jazz Club and was most recently vice president. He successfully promoted many special jazz events that the club sponsored. An accomplished swimmer, Rick swam competitively and proudly shared his stories of successes as a senior swimmer. Among his other interests were sailing, scuba diving and painting. He also wrote a column for The Weekly Challenger newspaper reviewing arts and entertainment in the Tampa Bay area, especially jazz events. Ricks love for playing the flute was common knowledge and it was a real treat to hear him play at his concerts and jams. Not to be forgotten is his playing at the jam after the annual ADTBJA Board annual dinner which he attended as a past president on January 6th of this year. A Memorial Musical Service will be held for Rick Gee on Saturday, Saturday, March 22nd at 11:00 a.m. at Bethel Metropolitan Baptist Church, 3455 26th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 07:10:17 +0000
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