In Memoriam
Daniel Gasteiger
February 23 , 1958 - June 1 , 2017
Daniel was a passionate advocate for communicating the benefits of gardening across the many digital channels to which he contributed . He was a well-known contributor to blogs and social media sites under his alter ego , Cityslipper . His avatar was described as “ an avid gardener enjoying rural life while espousing the merits of gardening , family , golf , billiards , technology , dogs and writing .” He wrote about every single one those topics but not necessarily in that order .
Soon after he joined GWA , we shared a phone conversation where his enthusiastic and often prescient pronouncements about what we needed to do to bring our association into the modern age , allowed me to dream of the day where we ’ d have a database-driven membership list ; grand , new web-based member portals ; several blogs ; news groups , and focused online chats . Daniel used words that I needed a computer at hand to define .
He graduated from Cornell University in 1982 — almost a decade after I had left . But his roots were in Ithaca , New York . Only over the past three years had Daniel moved his father out of his boyhood home and packed up the ephemera of his youth . We shared many experiences of our ‘ life on the hill above Cayuga ’ s waters .’ I believe that ’ s what I remember most about Daniel : Constancy and continuous connection to his threads of life . He was one of my truest and most dependable of friends . His voice was the continuous nudge to complete the project today . Organize your thoughts , order your process and get it done ! Just like those experiments I ’ d had with my first-ever challenge of corporate database analytic software — Lotus 1-2-3 .
Daniel started his professional career as an editor for the Lotus Development Corporation . He pioneered an era of corporate management analysis with several early books and subsequent updated editions about Lotus 1-2-3 . After leaving Lotus , he consulted with a diverse spectrum of industries and associations , including IBM , Proctor & Gamble and Harvard University . Most impressively , he worked with CSSI Inc ., a corporate partner with government and commercial clients to ensure that transportation systems are designed , equipped and managed to safely and efficiently move people and materials . Daniel had always been somewhere close to the cutting edge .
His singular contribution to the published world of garden communication echoed his commitment to life : Yes , You Can ! While talking about his garden-to-table preservation recipes , the book is a compendium of common-sense basics that frame an historic American ethic as well as a way life .
Daniel ’ s contributions to GWA are brilliant . In the spring of 2012 , his was the first all-day workshop on social media . He served on many of the original committees and task forces that resulted in our extensive rebranding and digital recreation in the winter of 2015-2016 . He gave a name and an identity to our blog . He served with Ann McCormick and C . L . Fornari as GWA ’ s digital collaborators . He was the Internet and social media consultant who I had always wished could take on plenipotentiary powers .
As recently as two months ago , he had asked to run for a GWA board seat and began creating a new GWA Blog that will include vendors , sponsors and exhibitors . Daniel was also planning his next self-published e-book . He was always available for an hour or a day to consult on making a career in this new digital world . His was a voice that helped all of us to grow our technical knowledge as well as our businesses .
He and Scott Hokunson were co-founders and administrators of the Facebook group The Business of Garden Writing . Daniel ’ s most eloquent communication was a series of articles published by The Lewisburg Daily Item titled , “ Dire Diagnosis ,” which clinically but humorously details his 16-month life with pancreatic cancer treatment . His online presence will be greatly missed . Just weeks before this obituary , the Honors Committee named him a GWA Fellow and was waiting for the general release of other names for the official announcement .
He is survived by Stacy , his wife of 30 years ; father , Edgar Gasteiger of Ithaca ; children , Matthew , Callum and Cassidy ; brothers , Kirpal , Kris and Eric . Many friends and colleagues gathered in Lewisburg , Pennsylvania , June 4 to celebrate an amazing life well lived .
Beverley McDonnell Tanem
May 31 , 1930 - June 3 , 2017
— Kirk R . Brown , President of GWA
Beverley McDonnell Tanem of Novato , California , was best known to garden writers as the constant companion of Bob Tanem at many GWA conferences . The couple met while students at University of California-Berkeley and were married for 63 years . Survivors include Bob , children Bill , Kathy and Edie , and four grandsons . Bev taught special education students at San Rafael High School , where in 2006 , she was inducted to its Hall of Honor for volunteering for more than 34 years after her retirement . While teaching and mothering her children , she worked alongside Bob at Tanem ’ s Garden Center ’ s two stores , including keeping the books for more than 35 years . She also helped with Bob ’ s In the Garden on KSFO-AM radio . Contributions may be made to Dedication to Special Education , c / o Marin County Office of Education , P . O . Box 4925 , San Rafael , CA 94913 .
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