Owner of San Francisco’s beloved ‘Tom and Jerry house’ dies at 82

Dr. Jerome “Jerry” Goldstein, known for his gay activism and the elaborate Christmas decorations that adorned the San Francisco home he shared with his late husband, died on Nov. 15. He was 82. 

Goldstein and his late husband of 47 years, Tom Taylor, made a name for themselves in Noe Valley by decorating their home — known as the “Tom and Jerry house” — in extravagant decorations for the holidays. Beside a 65-foot pine tree draped in lights and Christmas ornaments, the fixture of their annual display was a massive set of stockings that overflowed with giant toys and were adorned with the names Tom and Jerry.

The house isn’t lit up with decorations this year. 

Goldstein was born in 1941 in Niagara Falls, New York, according to his obituary, which was first published in the San Francisco Chronicle. He moved to San Francisco between 1969 and 1970 to practice neurology and became the chief of neurology at St. Francis Hospital. He gave lectures around the world on neurological problems related to HIV and AIDS. 

Taylor and Goldstein were an active part of the LGBT+ equality movement in the 1970s and 1980s, and later went on to establish the Diversity Foundation of San Francisco. The couple was formally married in 2014, shortly after gay marriage was legalized in California. They were once awarded the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee board’s Heritage of Pride, 10 Years of Service Award for their contributions to the city’s LGBT+ community. 

Taylor died of complications related to prostate cancer in 2020. 

Goldstein is survived by his niece Judith Weidman, nephews Sydney Weidman (Dianne) and Joshua Weidman (Amanda), great-nieces Samara, Zoe, Maya, Emma and great-nephew Paul, according to his obituary.