Our beloved Director and Curator, Jerry Fielder, has died peacefully at his home in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

There are few true gentlemen in our world—defined in the modern sense as polite, considerate, dignified, and respectful of others… people of integrity, humility, intelligence, and culture.

These words aptly describe Jerry Fielder.

On Sunday, June 7, we lost a dear friend and a genuinely unique gentleman. Jerry passed away peacefully at his home in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
Jerry had a richly layered and rewarding life, one filled with adventure, travel, music, art, and love.

He was born and raised in Dixon, California in a farming family. (His father later became the California Secretary of Agriculture under Governor Ronald Reagan).

Jerry received a well-rounded high school education as a boarder at Stevenson School in Pebble Beach. Those formative years established deep roots on the Monterey Peninsula—including youthful adventures sneaking into Carmel on foot with his classmates—and inspired lifelong support for the school.

He next worked at NBC in Los Angeles, first as a page and then as Director of the Promotion Department. He returned to the Monterey Peninsula (a recurring theme throughout his life) to live in Pacific Grove and study among a vibrant community of creative artists—many of whom remained lifelong friends.

He left in 1977 to study at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, following his photographic path, but soon received an unexpected life-changing invitation. Celebrated international portrait photographer Canadian/Armenian Yousuf Karsh selected his assistants from Brooks and, in 1979, selected Jerry for the coveted role. Jerry had other paths in mind, but being the polite gentleman that he was, he flew to Karsh’s Ottawa studio to decline in person. The rest is history, as the charismatic Karsh convinced Jerry to stay. And stay he did for 40 years, not only as Karsh’s assistant, but also as a travel companion and friend. He soon was calling Mr. Karsh “Pappa” (at Yousuf’s request) and learned quickly (as he would later recount) to bring Karsh “not what Karsh asked for, but what he needed.”

Jerry travelled extensively with Karsh, photographing the leaders and cultural luminaries who shaped the late 20th century—royalty and presidents, writers, artists, actors, and visionaries, He never once name dropped with pretension, but often told great stories about how Karsh elicited the soul of each subject in his images.

After Karsh closed the studio in 1992, Jerry continued working to ensure that Karsh’s legacy would not be forgotten, orchestrating exhibits and books celebrating his work. That admiration and dedication continued after Karsh’s death in 2002, when Jerry was appointed Curator and Director of the Karsh Estate.

Jerry made friends wherever he went because of his innate curiosity about people and his insightful sense of humor. From his early times in Los Angeles, Ottawa, and Monterey to his later times in Paris, Amsterdam, and Boston, he created homes that provided quiet charm and that were surrounded with good friends (including his longtime home in Monterey that was the former studio of artist James Fitzgerald, one of the circle of Steinbeck friends—a wooded refuge with a massive north facing window, surrounded by lush gardens and a koi pond that tempted (yet befuddled) the neighboring raccoons.

Paris and Amsterdam provided especially rewarding times, with museums, music, and relaxing train journeys to towns easily visited in a day.

As hospice care was guiding Jerry to a peaceful and pain free passing, he spent his last weeks not thinking of himself, but checking in with friends, just as he had done on a regular basis throughout his life. Thoughtful, caring, loyal, and endlessly gracious, he remained focused on others until the very end.

We are fortunate to have known him and grateful to have called him our friend.

Jerry is survived by his husband Daniel, sister-in-law Patti Campbell and her husband Peter Caton, niece Kasey Spengler and her husband Alan Spengler, niece Kelly Eby and her husband Doug Eby, niece Dana Durkee, nephew Thomas Fielder Durkee, and great-nephews Robert and Ryan Durkee.

He was interred at the Silveyville Cemetery in Dixon, California in a private ceremony of family and friends.
Gifts may be given in memory/honor of Jerry Fielder, directed to The Photography Department, Stevenson School, 3152 Forest Lake Road, Pebble Beach, CA 93953.