Musson Theatrical Founder, Jan Musson, Dies at 79

	Jan Musson

Jan Musson died peacefully in her home in Goshen, Kentucky on the evening of Monday, December 21, 2015, at 10:30pm EST.

A graduate of Stanford University who received her master's degree from San José State University, Musson founded Musson Theatrical Inc. of Santa Clara, California in 1971 in her Los Gatos home. "There were fixtures, color, and cable in the basement, dimmers in the dining room, followspots in the bathroom, and lamps in the bathtub," Musson once said. Today, with full rental, sales, and production services departments, Musson is one of the largest full service theatrical supply houses in the nation. Although she sold the business to Bob Downs in 1995, Musson's courage, tenacity, intelligence, and humor continue to be a positive influence on the Musson Theatrical team.

In addition to her work at Musson, she was a stage lighting designer at multiple theatres in the Silicon Valley for over 20 years. Musson moved to Louisville in 1988 and opened a branch of Musson Theatrical there in 1989, which she subsequently sold to the employees. She also served as stage lighting designer for Walden Theatre in Louisville, and was a Fellow of the United States Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT).

Musson president Downs says, "There is no overstating the influence Jan had on so many of us. She happily gave me all the tools I needed to establish my position with her company, and we have always stayed in touch. I spoke with her for the last time a week ago. She was laughing then and probably still is. That is what we all will remember."

"I literally grew up at Musson," says rental and production services manager Linnie McIntyre. "Musson hired me at 18 and told me to learn everything I could and never stop learning. I was there when the building on Stockton Street was lost to a fire, and we moved into our current location. Through that tragedy, Jan was touched by the number of customers offering to return items they had just purchased to provide us with inventory, or offering equipment at no charge so we could meet our rental needs. She had no idea why anyone would do such a thing, or how much she meant to so many of us."

Musson's director of marketing and business development, Dinna Myers, says, "She was an inspiration to me, and to many women wanting to break into the male-dominated world of entertainment lighting and sound in the 1980s. She helped to blaze a path for the generation behind her, and it is a debt we can never repay. She will be dearly missed."

Musson is survived by her husband, Warwick Musson, brother, Frederick Morris (Lucy); Napa, California, niece, Juliana Hube; nephews, Gregory and Keith Morris; and grandnieces.

A funeral service was held at 2:00pm on Saturday December 26, 2015 at Pearson's Funeral Home at 149 Breckenridge Lane in Louisville. A second a memorial service and interment will occur some time in early January in Los Gatos, California. Please visit http://www.musson.com/about/news/ for additional information as it becomes available.

As Musson was an avid supporter of the performing arts, her wishes were that, in leiu of flowers or other expressions of sympathy, donations in her name be made to one of the following nonprofit organizations, or any performing arts organization of the donor's choosing:

Louisville Orchestra at https://www.louisvilleorchestra.org/
Louisville Ballet at http://www.louisvilleballet.org/
Lyric Theatre of San Jose at http://www.lyrictheatre.org/
San Jose Dance Theatre at http://www.sjdt.org/

Remembrances, stories, and memories of Jan may be publicly shared at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1494837804157966/?pnref=story