• Support
  • Advertise
  • Locations
  • Contact
Saturday, January 28, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTERS
San Clemente Times
  • Calendar
    • Event Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Sections
    • Eye on SC
    • Soapbox
      • Submit a Letter
    • Getting Out
    • SC Living
    • Sports & Outdoors
    • SC Surf
    • Dana Point Times
    • Capistrano Dispatch
  • Digital Edition
  • Best of SC
  • Explore SC
  • Legals & Classifieds
    • Locals Only Business Directory
    • Classifieds
    • Submit a Classified
    • Obituaries
    • Announcements
    • Submit an Announcement
    • Legal & Public Notice Advertising
  • Special Publications
    • Money Matters
    • Best of San Clemente
    • A New You
    • Aging Well – For the Young at Heart
    • Crib to College
    • Festival of Whales Event Program
    • Holiday Happenings & Gift Guide
    • Triton Football Preview
    • Go See Do
    • The Green Issue
  • SC Guide
  • Real Estate
    • South County Real Estate Guide
    • Real Estate – Who’s Who
  • Calendar
    • Event Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Sections
    • Eye on SC
    • Soapbox
      • Submit a Letter
    • Getting Out
    • SC Living
    • Sports & Outdoors
    • SC Surf
    • Dana Point Times
    • Capistrano Dispatch
  • Digital Edition
  • Best of SC
  • Explore SC
  • Legals & Classifieds
    • Locals Only Business Directory
    • Classifieds
    • Submit a Classified
    • Obituaries
    • Announcements
    • Submit an Announcement
    • Legal & Public Notice Advertising
  • Special Publications
    • Money Matters
    • Best of San Clemente
    • A New You
    • Aging Well – For the Young at Heart
    • Crib to College
    • Festival of Whales Event Program
    • Holiday Happenings & Gift Guide
    • Triton Football Preview
    • Go See Do
    • The Green Issue
  • SC Guide
  • Real Estate
    • South County Real Estate Guide
    • Real Estate – Who’s Who
No Result
View All Result
San Clemente Times
No Result
View All Result

GALLERY: Community Honors Fred Swegles with Paddle-Out at Pier

Staff by Staff
November 8, 2022 1:46PM
in EYE ON SC, News Headlines
GALLERY: Community Honors Fred Swegles with Paddle-Out at Pier
0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Story by Shawn Raymundo; Photos by Alan Gibby

The San Clemente community came out to the pier on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 6, to join family and close friends of the late Fred Swegles for a paddle-out honoring the beloved local newsman.

Swegles, 74, died peacefully in his sleep on Oct. 23, following months of health complications related to a diagnosed brain tumor.

Though it was Swegles’ wishes that his family not hold a formal memorial or Celebration of Life ceremony, community members and colleagues such as Picket Fence Media publisher Norb Garrett and USA Surfing CEO Greg Cruse rallied to organize Sunday’s memorial paddle-out.

“I had the pleasure of having Fred work with us (San Clemente Times) for about the last five years—I tried to get him 20 years ago when we first started the paper, but he decided to stick with the Sun-Post at the time, which is fine,” Garrett said jokingly.

For more than 50 years, Swegles covered the town of San Clemente and some of the surrounding cities, reporting for the Daily Sun-Post and Orange County Register. In 2018, after the Register shuttered the Sun-Post and its other community weeklies, Swegles Joined the San Clemente Times to launch his weekly CoastLines column.

Speaking on behalf of Swegles’ sisters Barbara Chamberlin and Valerie Mayer and brother Steve Swegles, Garrett expressed to the large crowd how appreciative the Swegles family was for the outpouring of support and appreciation for Fred.

“Fred loved you all and he loved San Clemente. Being the humble guy that he was, he stated over and over in his will that he didn’t want any services—all of you who know Fred, that’s very Fred, very on brand,” Garrett said, reading from a letter from the Swegles family.

“He didn’t want the attention. He greatly appreciated all the letters, the cards, the emails and all the visits over the past several months,” Garrett continued to read, adding, “Those visits, those cards, those emails, they all brought smiles and sometimes teary eyes, and love and appreciation for you.”

Nearly 30 people participated in the paddle-out on the north side of the San Clemente Pier, while the rest of the crowd lined the structure overlooking the surfers. During the paddle-out, the surfers circled up, holding hands, to share stories and reminisce about Swegles.

To close out the ceremony, Swegles’ former bandmate Jim Summers performed a rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”—one of Swegles’ favorite songs.

“From the family, thank you so much for being here for Fred,” Garrett said.

SR_1Shawn Raymundo
Shawn Raymundo is the managing editor for Picket Fence Media. He graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies. Before joining Picket Fence Media, he worked as the government accountability reporter for the Pacific Daily News in the U.S. territory of Guam. Shawn previously held the position of city editor for the San Clemente Times, and for The Capistrano Dispatch before that. Shawn can be reached at sraymundo@picketfencemedia.com or 949.388.7700 ext. 113. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnzyTsunami and follow all of PFM’s publications including the San Clemente Times @SCTimesNews; The Capistrano Dispatch @CapoDispatch; and Dana Point Times @DanaPointTimes.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Tags: FeaturedFred SweglesmemorialNewsmanOrange Countypaddle-outSan ClementeSan Clemente Piersurfers
ShareTweetPin
Staff

Staff

Related Posts

San Clemente Girls Soccer Finishes Early, Moves into First Place with Shutout of San Juan Hills

San Clemente Girls Soccer Finishes Early, Moves into First Place with Shutout of San Juan Hills

January 28, 2023
Artifex Releases Beer ‘Created by AI, Brewed by Humans’

Artifex Releases Beer ‘Created by AI, Brewed by Humans’

January 27, 2023
Calvada

Planning Commission Gives Go-Ahead to Mixed-Use Development South of Downtown

January 27, 2023
Council to Hold New Election of Mayor Pro Tem Amid Debate over Voting Process

Council to Hold New Election of Mayor Pro Tem Amid Debate over Voting Process

January 26, 2023
Next Post
OC Democrats Out Earning GOP in Congressional Races

Legislative Candidates Collectively Raise Millions in Bid for State Offices

Discussion about this post

No Result
View All Result

SC Times Daily
Get important news and updates delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up here.

Subscriptions
Don’t get the SC Times delivered to your home? Subscribe today.

Advertising
Get new customers and drive traffic to your business. Advertise with us.

Support Local Journalism
For less than the cost of a couple of cups of coffee a month, become an “Insider” member and continue to get “Local News You Can Use” from the only independently owned, dedicated local news organization in South Orange County.

Contribute today.

Picket Fence Media is a proud member of the SoCal Media Network.

  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Dana Point Times
  • The Capistrano Dispatch
  • Terms of Use
  • About Us

© 2023 Picket Fence Media

No Result
View All Result
  • Calendar
    • Event Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Sections
    • Eye on SC
    • Soapbox
      • Submit a Letter
    • Getting Out
    • SC Living
    • Sports & Outdoors
    • SC Surf
    • Dana Point Times
    • Capistrano Dispatch
  • Digital Edition
  • Best of SC
  • Explore SC
  • Legals & Classifieds
    • Locals Only Business Directory
    • Classifieds
    • Submit a Classified
    • Obituaries
    • Announcements
    • Submit an Announcement
    • Legal & Public Notice Advertising
  • Special Publications
    • Money Matters
    • Best of San Clemente
    • A New You
    • Aging Well – For the Young at Heart
    • Crib to College
    • Festival of Whales Event Program
    • Holiday Happenings & Gift Guide
    • Triton Football Preview
    • Go See Do
    • The Green Issue
  • SC Guide
  • Real Estate
    • South County Real Estate Guide
    • Real Estate – Who’s Who

© 2023 Picket Fence Media