Dean Westgaard

Dean Westgaard

By Bill Sorrells

Dean Westgaard, now there was a man! He died of stomach cancer in his mid 50’s, one of the first guys to parachute off of Half Dome in Yosemite; that was on his 50^th birthday. Later when he lay dying, this big hulk of a man had shrunk to about a 100 pounds and he made the guys take him sky diving. One of Dean’s last wishes was to put on a spectacular sky diving show for the city that had been so good to him and his family. He organized that show and participated himself, even through he was so weak that he had to be helped into the plane and have his rip cord pulled by another jumper. The present lifeguard head quarters are dedicated to him. When we guarded together, he was like a big brother to us guys- “the boatman”. If I could go down 20’, he could go down 40’; not with any sense of bravado either, he just did it on a regular basis. He could single-handedly furnish the food for a lifeguard party with a few dives in the places he knew. Abalone, bugs, etc. I still see him rowing out up and over the oncoming surf and plopping on the other side like the Norse ancestors of his had done for hundreds of years. He didn’t just survive the surf, he taught it a lesson.

He always strove to keep lifeguards as a friendly, helpful presence on the beach while going about their official duties.

Dean loved kids. He was always ready to give them a few tips about the best fishing, diving, or body surfing – and if they doubted it he was out there demonstrating in his own inimitable way. Dean and Juanita brought their children up with the beach as a center of activity. First, Guy, then Scott, then Kurt, and finally Denise went through the stages of sand digging and wading to becoming skilled swimmers, surfers, divers, and volleyball players.

Dean worked to keep Laguna’s beach area open and well used. He was instrumental in keeping the basketball courts in the plans for the new Main Beach Park, because he knew the tremendous use that the old courts had received. He also strongly supported the acquisition of coastal parkland between Laguna and Corona del Mar.

Dean Westgaard guarded 16 years in the City of Laguna Beach, 1955 through 1970, one of the greats.