In Memoriam: Frieda Paras-Jones
By admin | June 16th, 2010 | Category: Newsflash, Obituaries | 1 Comment »Forwarded from Carlos Penaranda:
It is with great sadness and loss that the Renaissance Pleasure Faire must announce the sudden and tragic passing of Frieda Paras-Jones, Costume Designer, loving wife, dear friend and long-time member of our Faire family. She passed away peacefully late yesterday afternoon after lying down for a nap. Her influence and vision for the Faire was second-to-none and will be whole-heartedly missed.
Guy, Frieda’s husband, has expressed his gratitude in the support offered. At this time, he is focusing on the necessary arrangements. There will be a private service for family only, but there will be a memorial service at the Northern California Faire this fall and we will certainly have a memorial at the 2011 Renaissance Pleasure Faire. Guy has asked that during this difficult period that he not receive any phone calls or flowers. Please wait until he contacts you or reaches out through a message from us.
At this time, all the family has been notified. You are now invited to express publicly on Facebook or other forums your feelings of loss and memories of this wonderful, beautiful, creative woman who we dearly loved.
My family and I learned of Frieda’s passing last night, and there were many tears shed and memories shared. Frieda and I weren’t Faire acquaintances, we were introduced by my brother, Carvin Knowles, and immediately became fast friends. In fact, Frieda was the only person other than my brother to have had a key to our house and visitation rights to our hot tub. My son, as a toddler, called her Aunt Feeda and loved her like family – his 19-year-old self broke down in tears on hearing the news. The only deaths that have hit us this hard were my father, my husband’s mother and now Frieda.
She introduced me to the garment district in Los Angeles and we went there on fabric shopping expeditions, we borrowed each other’s clothes, bummed ciggies off each other (when we still smoked) and generally leaned on and supported each other through tough times. I remember the night she called me from Optic Nerve and asked me to come over right away, she had something important to tell me. When I arrived, she showed me her engagement ring and gave me a detailed description of Guy’s proposal at Walt Disney World. The last time we spoke, it was a joyous conversation because my husband and I had just reconciled after 10 years and were getting ready to re-marry.
Frieda was the sister that God didn’t see fit to give me until I was in my 30s, more significant to me than the one born to my parents (even my mom adored her). We will always love her, she remains an important part of our lives which her presence enriched, and our hearts go out to Guy in his time of loss and sorrow.