Photo via GoFundMe

Friends of Harry Popick are turning to deadheads for financial support, launching a GoFundMe campaign on his behalf. Popick will be known to some as an associate of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, holding the position of on-stage monitor engineer for 20 years. Now, after a prolonged series of health setbacks, Popick and friends are asking for help from the public.

Popick is linked to his work behind the soundboard, ensuring the highest-quality listening experience for fans. During his time working with Dead, Popick was a figurehead in conceiving the “Tour Ticket” idea, which allowed fanatics to buy tickets to each of the ensemble’s coveted tours. His devotion to ensuring the best fan experience extended through his offering of “Miracles” granted to ticketless and unexpected folks in and around the venue location. 

Ultimately, after Garica’s 1995 passing, Popick was able to keep busy after parting ways with the band, using his union membership to seek various work opportunities. Popick suffered a stroke, and despite recovery efforts, which included extensive physical therapy, he experienced issues such as chronic muscle contraction in his right hand. 

Further hardships ensued, and Popick left his family and friends in California for familial duties in Florida, which coincided with a cancer diagnosis and subsequent surgeries, including an unrelated hip replacement followed by the challenges of a global pandemic–and its own set of woes. Recently, he was diagnosed with hypertension and sciatica, which implicates daily tasks. 

Given a series of health setbacks and financial burdens, Popick has continued his devotion as a loving and caring father, sending money to his daughter, who is facing her own set of wellness challenges–despite living off a fixed income. 

Friend and GoFundMe campaign creator Mel Ortner expressed, “I am posting this in an effort to reach out to the thousands of Grateful Dead fans who knew Harry directly or indirectly and to anyone sympathetic to the hardship Harry is having to endure. I hope all of you can find it in your heart to contribute to the fund in an effort to raise enough money for this wonderful, compassionate and generous man.”

“We all want him to be able to improve his quality of life. He deserves a chance to live out his dream of moving to Southern Oregon and spend his remaining years in comfortable, affordable housing, have a reliable car, be closer to his daughter and also have his close friends nearby to assist him when it’s necessary,” he concluded. 

To learn more or contribute financially, visit Help Improve Popick’s Quality of Life via GoFundMe.