

A Grateful Dead fan died after collapsing while dancing at Dead & Company’s homecoming shows at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park this past weekend, according to Consequence. A GoFundMe page started by his children states, Fred Cothard “suddenly collapsed” at the concert. Jody Leddy attended the show with Cothard and added in a Facebook post that Cothard’s collapse occurred while they were dancing to “They Love Each Other.”
“I am blessed & honored to have been there with him every moment yesterday before, during & after his passing,” Leddy wrote. “I was holding him, talking to him about his kids, & kissing him until hours after the doctor pronounced him, until I got in touch with his daughter.”
Cothard’s obituary states he was 54 at the time of his death and operated his own construction company. He also had a “deep love and passion for the Grateful Dead” while his “greatest love was exploring with his children and discovering what the world has to offer” and would travel “the country with family and friends from all over the world, to see the next show.”
Cothard’s children, twins Sadie and Sawyer, said the GoFundMe campaign is raising money to transport his remains back home to Michigan, as well as funeral and memorial expenses and immediate household needs.
“Our dad brought Sawyer and I to our first Dead show in 2016, even as young children we were welcomed into the Dead family with open arms,” Sadie Cothard wrote. “May the four winds blow you safely home.”
As of publishing, the campaign has surpassed its goal of $25,000 with over $40,000 raised. Contributions can be made to the GoFundMe here.
