Dr. Christina Rose 1942 - 2020 Dr. Christina Rose was born Christina Fiske in 1942 in New York City to an artistic family. Her mother was an opera singer, her father was a writer, her brother a musician, and her grandparents were philosophers and suffragists with English and Danish heritage. She grew up in an apartment overlooking the George Washington Bridge. While a student at the High School of Music and Art, she was selected by legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein to perform a solo and to be in his choir on CBS television. Always interested in both music and culture, she earned a B.A. in music/ethnomusicology and anthropology at UCLA, and received her PhD in anthropology at U.C. Berkeley, where she pioneered a field that had no name at the time: African-American Studies. Her thesis was turned into a bestselling book, and she appeared on 60 Minutes. For almost 50 years, Christina was an adjunct professor at numerous junior colleges around the Bay Area, teaching anthropology, sociology, archeology, and folklore, spreading the "gospel" of humanity and respect for different people and their cultures. She was beloved by generations of students. Like her parents and grandparents, Christina was a proud Democrat and advocate for the rights of disadvantaged groups. In 1960, she turned down membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution because of their earlier refusal to allow Marian Anderson to sing at Constitution Hall. In the 1970s and 1980s, Christina helped unionize the teachers at College of Marin, and made headlines for being the first faculty member to sponsor a gay and lesbian club at Indian Valley College. She also taught at Chabot College and Santa Rosa Junior College. In the late 1970s, when Christina's gospel choir had nowhere to meet, Christina offered her living room and home as the choir's regular rehearsal space. The choir soon merged with another choir, and the heyday of the Lighthouse Singers of Marin began. For 45 years, Christina's extraordinarily beautiful soprano singing, prolific gospel composing, and kind, loving spirit inspired those in her choir and her audiences. She taught gospel singing and performed all over the Bay Area and nationally, even internationally. She recorded four albums with the Lighthouse Singers of Marin, as well as singing with the Northern California Chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, and the Voices of Christ. She is widely remembered in the gospel community nationally for her inspired performance debut on the national gospel scene with the Lighthouse Singers in Atlanta, Georgia in 1984, at the GMWA annual convention. Christina also taught piano and voice from her home to generations of children and adults. She is remembered by her family and her piano students for her remarkable kindness to children; she was always full of love, hope, and respect for every child. For the last 30 years, she was the Minister of Music at Miller Avenue Church, and with her Jewish background and 1940s-1950s Manhattan upbringing, she joked she knew more Yiddish than the average Baptist. Christina sang, taught, and worked until the final weeks of her life. After a 15-month battle with pancreatic cancer, Christina passed away at home, on New Year's Eve, shortly before midnight, December 31, 2020 with her devoted husband by her side. Christina lived in the Tamalpais Valley neighborhood of Mill Valley from 1974 until her passing. Throughout her life, her smile would light up a room and her goodwill was boundless. Always artistic, she wrote poetry, children's stories, and music. Always intellectually curious, she read widely and had many ideas about how to make the world a better place. She is deeply missed by her family, friends, church and choir community, and countless former students. Christina is survived by her husband, John Cepelak, her co-composer of their opera, "Lincoln & Booth," and who had been in love with her since they first met at Music and Art High School in New York City in 1956. She is also survived by her brother and his family, and by her daughters and grandchildren. Her remains were buried according to her wishes at Fernwood Cemetery in Mill Valley. She asked that a joyous memorial be held to celebrate her life, and that it be delayed until large gatherings are safe again. Any remembrances or notes to the family may be sent in care of Christina's pastors to: Mr. John Cepelak c/o Miller Avenue Church, 285 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941.