Warren Hellman Memorial Held Wednesday

A memorial service is being held today for San Francisco financier and philanthropist Warren Hellman, who died Sunday at the age of 77.
    Mayor Ed Lee, who is expected to attend the memorial, ordered all  flags at city and county buildings to be lowered to half-staff today in honor  of Hellman, who is best known for founding the popular Hardly Strictly  Bluegrass music festival held annually in Golden Gate Park.
    San Francisco Unified School District buildings are also lowering  their flags today in honor of his contributions to the city's young people.
    Among his accomplishments, Hellman founded the private equity firm  Hellman and Friedman LLC, helped found the San Francisco School Alliance --  an advocacy group for the city's schools -- and served as chairman of the  board for The Bay Citizen, a nonprofit news organization he helped found in  2010.
    The memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Congregation  Emanu-El, located at 2 Lake St. in the city's Presidio Heights neighborhood.  The service is for friends and family, although limited space will be made  available to members of the public.
    The service will also be streamed live on the Hardly Strictly  Bluegrass website, www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com.
    A public celebration of Hellman's life is also planned for an  as-yet-undetermined date in January in Golden Gate Park.
    Last Thursday, the city's Recreation and Park Commission renamed  Speedway Meadow as Hellman Hollow in honor of his contributions to the park  and the city.
    In lieu of flowers, Hellman's family is asking for donations to be  made to the San Francisco Free Clinic at www.sffc.org, The Bay Citizen at  www.baycitizen.org, or the San Francisco School Alliance at  www.sfschoolalliance.org.