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Memorial services for the late Ken Genser, mayor of Santa Monica, will be held Sunday, January 24, at 1:30 p.m. at Barnum Hall at Santa Monica High School.

Following the services, a reception will be held in the east wing of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. .

Genser served on  the  City Council  longer than anyone in history. At the time of his death, he was in his 21st year on the dais –  with  three years left in his sixth term.

An early and active member of Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR),  which has dominated Santa Monica politics for 30 years, Genser did ime on a number of City boards and commissions before making his first run for the Council in 1988.

Complaining of severe back pain and difficulty breathing, Genser was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital on . October 30. He died on January 9. No cause of death has been announced.

In a series of sad coincidence,

Mayor Herb Katz died a year ago. and nine months after his mayoral term ended, Council member Ken Edwards died, in August, 1985.

All three men had just wom re-election. Katz and Edwards both died of cancer.

Genser is survived by his mother, Marcia Genser, his sister, Harriet Beck, and his niece, Mara Beck. In lieu of flowers, they have asked that donations be made to the Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC), 1453 16th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404-2715, (310) 264-6646.

The City has announced that  parking in the Civic parking lot will be free for the services and the reception. Barnum Hall is a short walk from the

Note: In a previous story, we reported that Gemser had lived in Santa Monica all his life, but an alert reader informed us that he was raised in  Ladera Heights and graduated from Inglewood High School.