Lloyd Philip Kamins

Lloyd Kamins, a man of many passions, passed away peacefully on February 6, 2025, at the age of 87. He leaves a legacy of love, connection, and a deep appreciation for the richness of life.

Lloyd was born on November 3, 1937, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the only son of Jack Kamins and Anne Cohn. Lloyd is survived by his wife Catherine, his two daughters Melissa Kamins Armoza and Deborah Kamins, son-in-law Edward Davis, and his four grandchildren, Noa Armoza, Lia Armoza, Ella Armoza, and Tessa Kamins Davis. Lloyd was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from White Fish Bay High School in 1955 and went on to earn a BS from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena in 1959. He received his medical degree from Columbia Medical School in 1963, and completed his residency at Harvard's program at Massachusetts Mental Health Center in 1967.

During his time in Boston, Lloyd and his first wife Nancy Bogost, welcomed their first daughter, Melissa. Following his residency, Lloyd served in the US Army, teaching basic psychiatry to medics in San Antonio, Texas, during the Vietnam War. While stationed in San Antonio, he and Nancy welcomed their second daughter, Deborah. Lloyd received an honorable discharge in 1969 and moved with his family to California.

In California, Lloyd established a private psychiatry practice and joined Marin Community Mental Health (MCMH), where he worked for many years as a staff psychiatrist and at the Crisis Unit at Marin General Hospital. Lloyd was a founding member of the Marin Psychotherapy Institute, providing classes, supervision, and internships to therapists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lloyd was a respected and beloved teacher, consultant, and clinician. In 1972, Lloyd purchased a farm in Novato, California. He began restoring the house and farm buildings, adding farm animals, gardens, and fruit trees. In 1975, Catherine Peters joined him in living in this special place, and they married in 1976. Lloyd and Catherine loved traveling and filled their home with treasured objects collected over a lifetime. Lloyd also had a passion for collecting rocks and minerals, surrounding himself with beautiful specimens. The farm became the heart of his family life, and Lloyd spent the rest of his years living on this property, transforming it into a welcoming home where his family and friends gathered.

Lloyd was a talented musician whose lifelong passion was bebop jazz. He played piano from an early age, and most of his life he was in one band or another. One of the many paradoxes about Lloyd was that while he loved music, he never heard lyrics. His interest was the rhythm, the chord changes, the melody. After his retirement from clinical work in 2002, he regularly played piano with friends and at local restaurants.

Lloyd was also an avid game player. Games were a favorite form of entertainment and connection with friends and family; he enjoyed card games, board games, word games, and

played poker with a long-standing monthly group. He loved playing Go, and delighted in teaching (and eventually being beaten by) his family in the card game Scrooge.

Family was the center of Lloyd’s world. His daughters grew up spending weekends and summers on the farm. In 1999, both daughters married and started their own families. Melissa and her three daughters Noa, Lia and Ella came to live on the farm in 2012, while Deborah, her husband Edward, and their daughter Tessa, live nearby in San Anselmo. Family dinners and holidays became an integral part of life on the farm. Lloyd touched innumerable people during his 87 years. Lloyd enriched the lives of all who knew him, leaving a legacy of calming warmth. He connected deeply, as a therapist, friend, husband, father, and grandfather. He was one of a kind, following his passions while inspiring others to be more fully themselves. He appreciated all that he had, and enriched our lives in so many ways.

He leaves us with bigger hearts and a deep appreciation for human connection and what truly matters in life. He will be deeply missed by his family, and all who knew and loved him.

Goodbye Lloyd, Dad, Grandpa.

We love you, forever.

The following link will take you to a selection of Lloyd's music and recordings:

                   https://www.youtube.com/@lloydkaminsmusicrecordings/playlists