October 4, 1957 - November 20, 2017
Shari Beth Reese's birth coincided with the launch of Sputnik. After a Michigan childhood, she arrived in San Francisco in 1978. There, she found her home of gay days, nights, seasons, loves, and losses. With her dark, Welsh good looks, she soon began her many years' tenure tending bar at the Stud, where she was at first sight known as "the cute new boy." Regarding the job, she said, "It beats working!" And it allowed her free time to pursue her hobbies: collecting esoteric, ephemeral 1950s and 1960s things; listening to anything musical; studying up on the likes of Liberace and Noel Coward; and keeping tabs on "All My Children." As a reader, artist, musician, and witty Renaissance girl, she could turn a phrase like nobody's business. Beyond the Stud, she worked on the railroad for five years, after which she retired to Mexico, as the crazy old Gringa. She joins in death her many dear friends who died of AIDS back in the day. The living dear old friends ask you to join us in celebrating her life Saturday, January 27, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Wild Side West bar, 424 Cortland Avenue, San Francisco. Bring your favorite Shari story and cash for booze.