DSA San Diego sadly shares the news of the passing of Herbert Shore, one of the co-founders of our chapter and a former member of DSA’s National Political Committee. Herb was 83 and is survived by his wife, Virginia Franco.
Members and friends are invited to participate in a memorial event celebrating Herb’s inspiring life on March 23, from 1 – 3 pm in Old Town.
Barra Barra (map)
Serrano Room
4016 Wallace Street
San Diego, CA 92110
To RSVP, please fill out this brief form by March 10.
Herb and Virginia were members of Students for a Democratic Society and subsequently the New American Movement, which in turn merged with the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee to form the Democratic Socialists of America in 1982. Concurrently, Herb’s academic career advanced him from the earliest years of the Department of Physics at UC San Diego to San Diego State University, where he lectured and researched until retirement in 2002.
Everyone who knew Herb following DSA’s astonishing growth in 2016 and 2017 will remember his thrill at the atmosphere of exuberant possibility during those years. The DSA chapter he and Virginia founded in the early aughts outgrew their living room, yet they never set aside their roles as hosts par excellence; Herb delivering impromptu lessons on the history of the left during chapter meetings and eagerly describing the specifics of the national organization to new members. Herb had a genius for instruction yet was also unflaggingly kind, which softened disagreement and offered an object lesson in how special a comrade can be, and how unique that relationship.
For Herb’s memorial on March 23, we would like to gather remembrances to better tell the story of who Herb was and what he accomplished, together with those he loved and those with the irreducible connection of comradery. Many of us understood the collective nature of solidarity thanks to Herb Shore, and he’ll be part of us as our solidarity endures.
If you have remembrances or tributes to Herb you would like to share, please enter them in the RSVP form or contact our chapter.