Greg Allen Minor, age 72, died peacefully in his sleep at his apartment in Crescent City, CA on July 22, 2023. Greg was born to Allen Steele Minor and Ruth (Nicki) Adena (Nichols) Minor in Burbank, CA on April 26, 1951. Greg spent his carefree childhood years in the San Fernando Valley (mostly Pacoima) with his younger siblings Linda and Scott, until moving north with his family to the SF Bay Area (Cupertino) in 1964. He attended Kennedy Junior High and Homestead High School, where he was a member of the cast and crew in plays and musicals at both schools. After graduating from high school in 1969, Greg took several courses at nearby De Anza Community College, focusing on art, humanities, and photography. During this time, he participated in several Vietnam war protests. In the early-mid 70s Greg heard the call to join a commune in Berkeley to explore alternative philosophical and spiritual perspectives on life. After his communal experience, he worked a variety of different jobs over the next 30 years, including as a security guard and delivery courier. In 1982, Greg moved back into the family home in Cupertino, where he lived with his parents Nicki (until her passing in 1995) and Al for the next 35 years. During this period, Greg recovered from several painful back surgeries. At the age of 40, Greg was diagnosed with diabetes, a major setback that adversely affected him for the rest of his adult life. He worked his final job of 10+ years at Enterprise Car Rental, where he was a car detailer and driver. Greg assisted Al, whose health was declining, until Al moved into a care facility, where Al passed away in 2018. Desiring to get away from the traffic, crowds, summer heat, and expense of the Bay Area, and live on the coast, Greg retired in 2017 and moved north to Crescent City. Despite his declining health due to diabetes, Greg’s happiest years of his life were spent there, where he enjoyed walking along the shore, breathing in the cool sea air, and gazing from his apartment at the winter storm waves crashing into the pier in the harbor as the gale-driven rains pelted his window. Greg will be missed and remembered by family and friends for his laugh and smile.
Greg was preceded in death by his parents and survived by his sister Linda Morris (Michael) of Medford OR, brother Scott Minor (Kathleen) of Boulder CO; niece Sara Razavi (Mason), nephews Brian Morris (Christen), Josh Minor (Jamie), Kelton Minor (Willa), Josef Minor; and grandnephew James Morris and grandnieces Hannah and Ashley Morris.
A memorial-celebration of Greg’s life will take place on Friday, September 8, 2023 at the B-Street Pier at 2:00 pm in Crescent City, followed by a gathering at nearby SeaQuake Brewing Co. at 3:00 pm, where Greg spent many happy hours and made new friends. In lieu of flowers, donations in Greg’s memory may be made to the American Diabetes Association.