Eric Pollard, Market activist, musician and herbal wizard

When Eric Pollard moved to Seattle in 1992, it didn't take long for people at the Pike Place Market to realize he was an herbal wizard.

They also came to know Mr. Pollard as an avid reader who studied music, played piano and organ, and loved opera and ballet.

Mr. Pollard became a master of traditional techniques of healing, and customers at the market's Tenzing Momo Herbal Apothecary asked for him by name. They came to know him as an expert, said Jeffrey Gould, who owned the shop with Mr. Pollard and another person.

Mr. Pollard, known to his friends and customers as "Big Polly,'' died May 3 of AIDS-related pneumonia while vacationing in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He was 37.

Friends and co-workers remember Mr. Pollard for his charisma, frequent smile and passion for his work.

"He was a bigger-than-life personality," Gould said. "He knew everything about herbs. People would come in and ask me something, and I'd give them an answer. And they'd say, 'Well, I want to check that with Polly.' "

Mr. Pollard had cut back his work at the market in recent months to compose music and write a symphony. He was once invited to be a guest director at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Marcia Van Liew, a close friend of Mr. Pollard's, said she attended many opera and ballet performances with Mr. Pollard. "He loved Seattle," she said. "I think the combination of a wonderful city and a great place to practice herbalism is what drew him here."

Friends relish telling stories about Mr. Pollard.

Gloria Skouge, who worked with Mr. Pollard on the Market Constituency, whose members work at or live near the market, recounted how, years ago, Mr. Pollard had collided with a grizzly bear as he sped through a national forest on a motorcycle. Mr. Pollard and the bear stumbled down an embankment, the story goes. Then the bear stood up, looked at Mr. Pollard, unleashed a loud roar and ran away.

Gould had confidence in Mr. Pollard early in their partnership. Shortly after moving to Seattle, Mr. Pollard strolled up and knocked on the door at Tenzing Momo. It was Sunday, and the shop was closed.

Gould was inside vacuuming. "We're closed," Gould said. Mr. Pollard, sporting long hair and a beard, persisted.

"He said, 'It's my life's ambition to own an herbal apothecary,'" Gould recalled. "I could have died laughing, but I invited him in and gave him a job."

In two years, Mr. Pollard became a staple to the store and took up part ownership. Colleagues say he cared deeply for the success of the market, and in 2000, he became chair of the Market Constituency. That involvement led to wide political differences between Mr. Pollard and some market merchants and the Professional Development Authority (PDA), which serves as their landlord.

Gould and Charlie Chong, an executive board member of the Market Constituency, said Mr. Pollard fought the PDA for what he perceived as overbearing governance of the market's businesses.

Skouge, secretary of the Market Constituency when Mr. Pollard was chairman, said Mr. Pollard fought against what he saw as conflicts of interest in the PDA. After one issue grew into a heated debate, he resigned as chairman in frustration, Skouge and Chong said.

Mr. Pollard is survived by his parents, Barbara and Talley Pollard of Little Switzerland, N.C.; his sister and brother-in-law, Amy and Matthew Loebach, and two nieces of Gaithersburg, Md.; and a grandmother in Florida.