In Memoriam
We want to take a moment to remember the lives of the alumni we’ve recently lost. We celebrate the contributions they made to the causes they worked on and the countless lives they touched. The Public Interest Network family was enriched by their presence, and they are deeply missed.
Robert Klingon
A campus organizer with MASSPIRG in the ’80s, Rob Klingon later embarked on a career in law and practiced at prestigious firms including Jones Day, Sive Paget & Riesel, Cravath Swaine & Moore and Simon Gluck & Kane. He ultimately created his own law firm and worked on corporate governance, environmental issues, employment, intellectual property, commercial disputes, international business, bankruptcy, securities, antitrust and international trade.
Rob died at age 61 on August 2, 2020, of glioblastoma, a recent victim of 9/11 — he had lived near the World Trade Center when the towers came down on that fateful day. He was a graduate of Amherst College and Boalt Hall School of Law at Berkeley. He clerked for Judge Procter R. Hug Jr. of the the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Reno, and for Judge Evan Wallach of the International Court of Trade, in New York City. He was also a Coro Fellow, and spent some time working for Coro, and also for the NRDC, in New York. Rob is survived by his father Gerald, sister Karen, and many, many friends.
Maya Peterson
In a tragic loss of both mother and baby, Maya Peterson died in childbirth on June 16, 2021. She was a canvasser with the Fund in Newton, Mass., during the summer of 1999. Post-PIRG, she pursued a career in academia. At the time of her death, she was a beloved professor of history at UC Santa Cruz. Alum Bernadette Del Chiaro writes, "Maya was one of my star field managers during the Newton ’99 summer canvass. She was a truly awesome human -- one of those people you work with for one summer but they stick with you for a lifetime."
The Humanities Division at UC Santa Cruz has established The Maya K. Peterson Memorial Fund, which will be used to honor her memory and legacy. You can make a donation here and read more about Maya’s life here.
Beth Gibans
On June 18, 2021, Beth Gibans passed away after a seven-year-long fight with ovarian cancer. She was a MASSPIRG campus organizer and canvass director in the 1980s. After PIRG, Beth worked in the sustainable agriculture field at the Land Institute in Kansas, at UC Santa Cruz and in Oregon where she co-founded and ran Sauvie Island Organics.
Alum Amy Perry Basseches adds, “[Beth] spent more than two decades in Joseph, Oregon, where her impact on northeastern Oregon was deeply felt through her company Backyard Gardens and her involvement in local food throughout the area. Beth remained very close to several of her MASSPIRG friends, and we will miss her hugely. Her life -- and her 7 year battle against cancer -- are an inspiration. Beth's sister Amy, also a MASSPIRG alum, was with her at the very end.”
This fund was created by Slow Food Wallowas in Beth's memory. You can read further about Beth’s life and death here:
Henry (right) with his son Christian at a 1000 Friends of Oregon event. Photo credit: 1000 Friends of Oregon
Henry Richmond
Henry Richmond died following a heart attack at his family’s farm on June 21, 2021. He was involved with the founding of OSPIRG in the early 1970s and went on to co-found 1000 Friends of Oregon along with Governor Tom McCall in 1974. Henry served as the group’s executive director until 1993 and was known as the father of Oregon’s land use planning system.
A 1000 Friends tribute to Henry sums it up like this: “Henry’s work has protected some of the best farm and forest lands in the world for growing food and trees, preserved iconic natural areas like the Oregon coast, and cultivated towns and cities with urban growth boundaries that have created walkable, more affordable, and climate-friendly places … For nearly fifty years, Henry has been an animating force for 1000 Friends, and in turn, the Oregon we all know and love. His groundbreaking work and spirit of perseverance will continue to shape Oregon’s land use planning system and the work of our organization for generations to come.”
Henry remained active with the PIRGs as a major donor to OSPIRG, meeting with State Director Charlie Fisher on a yearly basis, and by attending alumni gatherings in the Portland area. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, and their sons, Easton and Christian. You can read more about Henry’s life here.
Liz Hitchcock, Lucinda, Bob Shireman and Jon Scarlett at a past Alumni Aspen.
Lucinda Sikes
Lucinda passed away suddenly on September 19, 2021. She was a student chapter leader at UC Berkeley, CALPIRG administrator and U.S. PIRG consumer advocate and attorney, where she made many friends in the PIRG community. After PIRG, she served as an attorney for Public Citizen, where she fought in the courts to open government records and protect consumers, including one case [Doctors Associates v. Casarotto (1996)] that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Lucinda worked as a professor of legal writing at UC Berkeley for 20 years where Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky called her “the heart and soul of our legal writing program.” She also stayed involved in PIRG as a member of the CALPIRG Education Fund board of directors, and as an active alum attending alumni events in the Bay Area and retreats in Colorado.
Lucinda is survived by husband and fellow PIRG alum Bob Shireman; their children McCoy, Camden and Kirby Sikes; her brother-in-law and fellow PIRG alum Bill Shireman; and many more family members and dear friends. You can share photos and memories of Lucinda on the family’s page here.
Rob Gavrell
Rob died in a tragic motorcycle crash on September 25, 2021. Rob worked for COPIRG in the late ’90s as a campus organizer and then for Earth Tones, a phone company that gave its profits to PIRG environmental campaigns. After PIRG, he pursued a career in law and was a civil litigation attorney for over 15 years, building a highly-respected private practice and serving as vice president and senior vice president of the Colorado Bar Association. Rob was very involved with his beloved daughters, serving as president of their school PTA; he also volunteered on several boards and commissions, coached mock trial teams and served as a youth mentor. He is survived by his wife and fellow alum Stacey Brown Gavrell; their two daughters Emma and Jocelyn; and many dear friends and family. Those who were able gathered in early October at Sunlight Mountain Ski Resort in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, to remember Rob and celebrate his life. You can make a donation to support Emma and Jocelyn’s future needs via this GoFundMe and read more about Rob’s life here.
