In Memory of Jeff Gholson

My dad Jeff Gholson died on January 17, 2022, only a couple months after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that had metastasized to his bones and brain. He insisted on entering the VA Hospice Center in Long Beach and forgoing a prolonged battle with an already advanced cancer. He died peacefully, holding hands with my mother and sister. In the month+ he spent in hospice, he wrote many loving letters of farewell to the numerous friends, family, colleagues and comrades from his 79 full years of life. We were lucky to have been able to spend many hours at his side during his final days. He accepted death with an awe-inspiring courage and grace. It is just SO Jeff Gholson to insist on dying elegantly.

In October of 2021, after starting to experience the intense pain of his then-undiagnosed illness, he participated in the Women's March for Reproductive Rights - his last activist act before his death (that's him, masked, at the march in the photo you see here. His sign was his own creation). My dad was an adamant supporter of a person's right to have full control of their reproductive health, so in his memory and in lieu of flowers, I've set up this fund supporting Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood delivers programs, resources, and tools that help people make informed choices about their sexuality and relationships, so they can lead full and healthy lives. They are committed to advancing the health of people in this country by providing comprehensive education and care that is medically accurate, culturally responsive, equitable and accessible - to 1.1 million people every year, and millions more through digital education.

If you would like to make a donation in his memory, please feel free. I'm setting this up because people have asked me for a way to honor him, and I think this is fitting considering that he could barely walk yet made attending the march a priority. His support of this cause not only makes me proud, it moves me. I confided in my dad that access to the services Planned Parenthood provides has been extremely important for my own life's trajectory.

Thank you for reading and for caring about my dad and my family.