Jeremy Sommer
Sept. 6, 1957-Aug. 19, 2013
San Francisco, California

Jeremy passed away peacefully at home with family and friends at his bedside, after an eight month bout with pancreatic cancer. Born in San Francisco but raised in Palo Alto, he graduated from UC Davis in 1980 with a degree in economics.

Jeremy created and built Zocalo, a successful, nationally distributed, handcrafted furniture business. He traveled for work and pleasure to Europe, Mexico, and Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and Russia. He especially loved Italy, learned Italian, and made more than 60 trips there, amassing a huge group of close friends.

Jeremy was a lover of good food, was a great cook and was always willing to learn how to prepare dishes from places he had visited. Interested in cooking and entertaining since he was young, he was a generous host to friends, family and many people through his hosting with the cultural exchange programs of SERVAS and Couch Surfing.

He will be remembered as a dynamic entrepreneur who excelled at marketing and advertising while feeding everyone around him at all times. He was a ferocious Scrabble and Bridge player, a lover of musicals, and as someone who had a great sense of humor and a robust joy for living.

In his last six years, he supported three orphanages in Laos and made yearly trips there to bring supplies and to make donations for new dormitories and programs.

He cherished his many friendships from grammar school days and kept in touch with many friends, relatives and countless others around the world.

He is survived by his mother, Edith Sommer of Palo Alto, brothers Jon Allan Sommer (Amy Neal) of Centennial, Colo. and Paul Harris Sommer (Laura Selby) of Mercer Island, Wash.; four nieces and nephews, and countless friends.