joanne and i were blessed to have lucia as our loving daughter.
lucia affectionately calling me “daddy”
her time was up at 59. 1963-2022 a cherished wonderful life .that she lived to the fullest. succumbing to pancreatic cancer.
we enjoyed diving into the waves, bike rides , and carmen Ghia convertibles
we having a ton of fun experiences like camping in the high sierras, exploring museums and meeting intellectuals.
we enjoyed , “oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day,” “jimmy crack corn and i don’t care, “oh mister moon moon bright and shining moon please shine down on me” , “some enchanted evening, you will see a stranger, you will see a stranger across a crowded room”, ‘i’m big bad bill from the bad lands”.
her theme song “when i am worried and can not sleep i count my blessings instead of sheep and i fall asleep counting my blessings”
LUCIA ,JULIE ,CHRISTINE AND MOM JOANNE
JOANNE, LUCIA, DADDY, JULIE
LUCIA, DAD
LUCIA
JULIE SMALL, CAROLYN COOPER, GREG COOPER, CHRISTINE SMALL, YASMINA DEDIJER SMALL, KENT COOPER, EVELYN SMALL, LUCIA SMALL, ERIK DEDIJER-SMALL
LUCIA
SISTERS – CHRISTINE, JULIE, LUCIA, YASMINA
i her outspoken direct daddy , she orchestrated to interact as she desired. she ran the show.
she did it her way.
she was a fund raiser, writer, producer, director , editor, teacher, daughter, sister, partner, aunt, cousin, niece and friend.
her films and her life, intertwined.
life is not black and white, it is messy with a lot of grays.
lucia was aware of the many layers of her films and life, the viewer grasp what they saw and heard, but it took insight to understand her films in totality.
her films: my father the genius (2002) the axe in the attic (2007) one cut (2014) girl talk (2022) all received numerous awards, from varied groups of support. she was pleased that PBS SHOWED “GIRL TALK”. and that her movies are in the archives of Harvard.
my favorite, “my father the genius”. her first film that dealt with divorce and her fathers career. she told it her way at that time of her life. and shot film to make a sequel my father the genius II, even going to Nicaragua. she perked up again when i went to AbuDhabi, all about fame to springboard from that never happened.
in her film “my father the genius she showed the biomorphic biosphere and the green machine” which MoMA the museum of modern art in new york city included in their survey show emerging ecologies 9/17/23 – 1/20/24 and put in their permanent collection, she pleased that MoMA had tracked me down in the desert.
US, Venice Heritage Museum putting the green machine in opening group show 3/9/24.
LUCIA, DADDY
LUCIA, BROADCASTER, DAD
CHRISTINE, LUCIA, DADDY, JULIE, YASMINA
GRAND KIDS RAVEN, JACOB, LUCIA AND BROTHER ERIK
JULIE , YASMINA, FRANCO, CHRISTIAN LUGO DE SMALL, DAD HUSBAND, CHRISTINE, JACOB, ERIK, RAVEN, LUCIA
LUCIA, JULIE, PHILLIP BABICH
joanne, dad, christine, fred ferketice, justin, julie, lucia, phyllis, jim cooper
DADDY , LUCIA CAROLYN COOPER ON RIGHT
DAD AND LUCIA
she saying she got the drive to be idealistic from me. it served her well.
she was a moralist, which separated her from those that made films for money and power.
do it your way with convictions was my advise.
she confessing to me that raising money to do her films killed her — a constant tension.
lucia, the peace maker, lovingly dealt with her sisters: christine artist, julie investigative reported for public radio and mother of justin, yasmina artist and mother of sasha and leif, brother Erik contractor and father of raven and jacob, a tough juggling act for lucia, but she was loved by all.
lucia was an activist. in her student days. she stormed the bank of america in Santa Barbara and was detained. she a big time feminist with girl talk.
DADDY AND LUCIA AT GRUMMAN’S CHINESE THEATRE OPENING NIGHT MY FATHER THE GENIUS 2002
All rights reserved by Gulnara Niaz.
For personal use only – this image, or derivative works, can not be used, published, distributed or sold without written permission of the owner.
lucia loved nature, she shared a passion to preserve nature and drew strength from being around nature. walking around the ponds in boston and swimming in Walden pond.
she sent me a proposal to create an eco retirement community in nature for documentary film makers that she wanted me to design.
her last visit to los angeles, she and i went to the Guggenheim museum on top of the santa monica mountains with a dynamic view east of the skyline of los angeles showing how man has destroyed the los angeles basin. in contrast a view west of the pacific ocean and the channel islands celebrating the beauty of nature.
she on stage with “girl talk” at mount saint mary downtown LA . lucia demonstrating her intellectual skill and wit. applauded by a seasoned debate coach that said lucia nailed it with the best debate movie he had ever seen.
lucia later confessed, she was in serious pain the whole time, so brave of her!!!
my last spontaneous song to lucia through julie small at her bedside was “some enchanted evening”, which brought a smile to lucia’s face, julie discovered after lucia’s death. lucia sang “some enchanted evening,” to the night nurses on a regular basis.
there were loving memorial sevices in boston and santa monica, that were well attended and sponsored by her gracious mother joanne and orestrated by her friends and family.
she is missed, an inspiration to those that knew her and watched her films.
So touching to read this, Glen. What a beautiful person.
Congratulations on your Large family.
My heart is full Glen, thanks for sending this inspiration.
Beautifully done Glen. A wonderful tribute to an amazing daughter. I remember watching My Father the Genius. I know that you were very proud of her and rightly so. God bless. John and Vi Fleischer
Dear Glen;
Following 3 hours of yard work, hungry for dinner, out of the blue, I googled your name
..I came upon this memorial of Lucia, and immediately began to cry. I do have her wonderful film about you, and had not realized there is a sequel. She was. blessed.
Your memorial is fine reciprocity for her tributes to you
You neglected to mention the Casey Jones song, which you sang so remarkably for me, once or twice. so many years ago.
Sincerely,
Renee
..
You lit up the night sky
As brilliant as the moon
As difficult to catch as a falling star
As fragile and fine as hand-blown glass
I’m sure I failed you more than not
But you came back. You came back.
You shouldered responsibility like it was part of your skin
Pushed yourself past the point of collapse
Refused to abandon a fight or a friend
Persistent and resilient as a new blade of grass
You came back, you came back.
You were the person I wanted to be:
Outspoken, opinionated, in each conversation
Where did you learn to be like that?
Despite doubt, despite despair, despite loss
You came back, you came back
What gave you the strength to love so many people?
To travel and to live in so many places?
To never wear a bra?!
To drop a thousand bucks on a day at the spa
Times when I want to give up, I hear you saying,
‘C’mon now, cmon. We Small women are so intense!
But we come back–We come back.’