John Cunningham's Memorial Service Attended By Many At Heisler Park Over The Weekend

LAGUNA BEACH, CA—Hundreds gathered at Heisler Park on Saturday to bid farewell to John Cunningham, longtime Laguna Beach resident and co-founder of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. The tribute began with a reading of his favorite poem by Barbara Wright, Stephanie Cunningham's sister-in-law. The final stanzas of "A Tear and a Smile" by Khalil Gibran were printed on a memorial card for John Blythe Cunningham, 1938-2021, that was distributed to all who attended.

John was a "beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, friend, mentor, teacher, lifeguard, conservationist & artist," wrote Stephanie and their daughter Laura below the poem. On the other side of the card was a painting by John, a recent photo, and a glamorous shot of the young and fit lifeguard about to audition for the part of Tarzan in Hollywood.

Luckily he wasn't tall enough to be cast in the part.

“No, our lives would have been quite different from the way it turned out. This life has been much better for us,” Stephanie told longtime friend Dale Ghere, who guarded with John in Laguna Beach from 1960-74.

Laguna Marine Safety lifeguards past and present; former Thurston Junior High and Laguna Beach High School students and teachers; 50 years of volunteers and staff from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center were all at Picnic Beach to participate.

After the reading, the paddle out got underway.

A catamaran was anchored offshore., where Peter Chang, CEO of PMMC, awaited the paddlers for a ceremony.

Watermen and -women on SUPs, surfboards, and bodyboards made their way past the shorebreak to gather by the boat. A few swam out with just fins. One late swimmer was scooped up by a lifeguard on a sea-do and towed to the paddle out.

A drone flew overhead, filming the rites.

The family gathered arm-in-arm at the water's edge to watch after sprinkling rose petals on the sea and shore.

Most attendees observed from the cliff's edge, while others were on the sand keeping a respectful distance from the family.

The first paddler back to shore said the words spoken were deeply moving.

Most emerged smiling, then paid their respects to Stephanie with boards under their arms.

Back up at the picnic area, the paddlers dried off and changed out of their wetsuits.

Everyone gathered to hear speakers say a few words about John, each joking they were going to speak beyond the minute allotted. Then a picnic was enjoyed by all.

It was an uplifting and inspiring way to send off a truly remarkable citizen of Laguna Beach. He will be greatly missed.