Sheepshead Bay Station’s Mural Artist Passes Away
Bay Improvement Group President Steve Barrison informed us yesterday of the untimely passing of Faith Palmer-Persen just before New Years. Palmer-Persen, who was fighting cancer, is the artist behind the mural on East 15th Street between Avenue Z and Sheepshead Bay Road. Her passing came as BIG prepared for a restoration of the 120-foot mural.
As Palmer-Persen was most recently a California resident, her funeral services will be near San Francisco this Sunday. Barrison is requesting that anyone with photos of Palmer-Persen send them to him by e-mail so he can forward them to family for the service. BIG is also helping organize a local memorial at the mural site in June.
Below is the obituary from the San Francisco Chronicle, published January 5:
Faith Palmer-Persen Faith passed peacefully on December 30, 2009 at Stanford Medical Center. She spent her final days with her loving friends and family by her side after a valiant effort to overcome cancer. She was born on October 4, 1960 in San Mateo and had many happy memories of growing up in Hillsborough. After graduating from San Mateo High School, she attended Rhode Island School of Design and transferred to Parsons School of Design. She earned her Bachelor of Art degree Magna Cum Laude from Marymount Manhattan College. Before returning to the Bay Area over a decade ago, Faith spent several years living in New York City, her goal to fulfill her passion for painting and design. She started by creating original art of endangered species on tee shirts that she sold at Bloomingdale’s New York and the United Nations Gift Shop. She also painted murals for New York MTA and National Park Service. A few years ago, she traveled back to New York to restore her mural at Sheepshead Bay. Over the years, she displayed her art in many venues, including an exhibition with the Audubon Society. While her true love was her art, she also pursued a career in business. Most recently, she was a partner with Block Data Systems, managing Operations and Marketing. Prior to forming Block Data, she was Creative Director for Acteva.com, an online registration and payment company. She has also worked as a consultant for companies such as AT&T and Pfizer Pharmaceutical. Before her illness, she served as a vice-chair for the Environment and Natural Resources Forum at the Commonwealth Club and as a mentor for the California Clean Tech Open. Faith had many close friends who will miss her charisma, vivacity and love of life. She was always game for a party, a quiet get-together, or a night on the town. She loved nature, and outdoor activities including hiking, swimming and biking were her greatest diversions. She especially enjoyed long trail hikes with her dog, Mango. Faith is survived by her mother, Louise Palmer-Persen, of San Mateo; sister Christine Palmer-Persen (Steve Axelrod) of Windsor, CA; brother Ezra Palmer-Persen (Megan Finkeldey) of Larkspur, CA; sister Anne Palmer-Stein (Scott Stein) of San Mateo; niece Tessa Teichert-Stein of San Francisco and nephew Jonny Stein of San Mateo. She was predeceased by her father David Persen (Teri) of Costa Mesa, CA. Private family services are being held in January. The Lifemark Center at Skylawn Memorial Park 650-349-4411