Zev Guber

Zev Guber, beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend and Santa Fe community member passed away peacefully at home in Santa Fe on Saturday, 16 July, at sunrise, surrounded by family and friends.

Sheldon Zev Guber was born to Edna Shanis and Lee Guber on 27 September 1945 in Philadelphia, PA. He attended Penn State and graduated from New York University in 1967 with a BA in Film, Cinema and Video Studies, after which he moved to Los Angeles to work in motion pictures. In 1978 he returned to New York City to join his father in managing their family business, Music Fair Productions, including Valley Forge and Westbury Music Fairs.

Zev was a consummate philosopher, adventurer and martial artist and traveled extensively both with his family and professionally while producing live theater, films and documentaries.  He loved studying texts, meditation and practices from many different traditions and was proud of his eventual return to Conservative Judaism as his spiritual base.

Zev’s primary purpose in life was to create heaven on earth through family and he was exceedingly successful at it. He married Heidi Sparkes Guber in New York in 1979 and together they raised their family in NYC; Woodstock, NY; Montclair, NJ until 2012, when he and Heidi moved to Santa Fe. 

Zev is survived by his loving wife of 43 years, their three daughters and their families: Marisa Guber and David Warrell of Portland, OR; Elizabeth Guber and Nathan Longbotham of Santa Fe, NM; and Sarah Guber and Michael Murray of Mill Valley, CA, as well as two grandchildren, Grant and Harvey, and a third on the way. He is also survived by his brothers, Steven Tuttleman of New York City; David Tuttleman of Wilmington DE and their families, and an extensive and actively engaged family of cousins, nieces and nephews. Zev is predeceased by his beloved sisters, Carol Guber and Jan Tuttleman.

The family will sit shiva at home from 3 - 6pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with services starting at 5pm. A memorial to celebrate Zev’s life will take place in the coming months.

In lieu of flowers, please do something wonderful with or for someone you love. You can also make a donation to the emerging Jewish community, Ahavat Shalom, the NY Aikikai at nyaikikai.com/donate/, or Coming Home Connection at cominghomeconnection.org.