John Goodwin

Surfer and lifeguard John Gordon Goodwin was born on August 24, 1942 in California. Goodwin grew up in Manhattan Beach, California and graduated from Mira Costa High School in 1960. John spent one year at the University of Arizona before returning to the South Bay in California and switching to El Camino College, where he swam and played water polo. Goodwin went on to attend California State University in Long Beach and earned a teaching credential from UCLA. Moreover, John not only worked as a Los Angeles County Lifeguard for forty years, but also worked at the annual surf festival held in Hermosa Beach, California and spent fifteen summers as a Junior Guard instructor. He first met his future wife Darlene on the ski slopes of Sun Valley and proposed to her two days after making her acquaintance. Goodwin and Darlene got married in matching ski suits in Averell's restaurant on the mountain a year after they met. In addition, John also made clay works of art with his potter's wheel and was the owner of the Goodwin Stoneware store on Aviation Boulevard in the 1970's and 1980's as well as taught ceramics for both the South Bay Adult School and Palos Verdes Art Center. As a surfer, Goodwin surfed for the Hab Jacobs surf team from 1963 to 1965, was photographed for both books and surfing documentaries, and continued to surf his all of his life up and down the West Coast as well as at such far-flung places as Fiji, Hawaii, and Australia. Outside of surfing, John also enjoyed playing tennis and bicycle riding. Goodwin died at age 64 after suffering a massive stroke on May 21, 2007. He was survived by his wife Darlene and daughter Ann McNee.