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Months after Hurricane Katrina hit, two Carmel High School students learned their dad - 1960s musician Barry Cowsill - was killed by the storm. Family friend Jennifer Field has launched a fundraising effort to help them fly to the East Coast for his funeral.
Field contacted the Red Cross and the Lions Club, and she established trust accounts at Comerica Bank this week, hoping to raise donations to help cover the cost of the trip and provide for the kids' futures.
"They're struggling financially," Field explained. At the request of their family, The Pine Cone is not printing the student's names.
On Dec. 27, a body found near the Charles Street Wharf in New Orleans was identified as Cowsill, 51, according to news reports. Entertainment Tonight online reported, "The last the family had heard of Barry was from a message left on his sister's answering machine asking for help: 'I don’t know how to get out of town except wait for a bus. I've been so lonely . . . I hope I get in touch with you.' "
Cowsill was best known for the family band he performed in with his mother, brothers and sister.
" 'The Partridge Family' was based on their family band," Field said. "That was the highlight of his life."
The group had two hits that reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts: "The Rain, the Park and Other Things," in 1967, and "Hair," the title track of the musical, in 1969.
His wife and children, who moved to Cachagua years ago and then relocated to Carmel, are not inclined to ask for help, according to Field, and she worries the family doesn't have enough cash to make it to the funeral in Newport, R.I., or provide for the kids' future.
And they suffered another blow this week, Field said, when their mother's live-in boyfriend of the past several years, John Tolan, crashed his truck into a tree on Highway 1 Wednesday afternoon and was airlifted to San Jose Medical Center with major injuries to his head and stomach.
"It is a sad story, and I feel for the kids," Field said.
Contributions may be made at Comerica Bank on Dolores Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues in downtown Carmel, account No. XXX-XXX-XXXX. They can also be mailed to the bank at P.O. Box 6268, Carmel, CA 93921.
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