Former Hermosa Beach city officials, including city attorneys Bud Mirassou and Chip Post and former Los Angeles County lifeguards, including John Horn, Chris Gerold, Mike Stevenson and the Garrett brothers Dick and Dave, were among the mourners at a paddle-out for former Hermosa councilman and lifeguard Jack Wise on Sunday. Following the paddle-out at the Hermosa Beach pier, friends shared stories at the Mermaid restaurant, formerly owned by Wise’s longtime friend and fellow councilman Quentin “Boots” Thelen.
Wise died at his home in Palm Desert on July 20, after a long fight with dementia.
Terri Wise recalled her father as “loving anything to do with water.” After surviving Japanese suicide bombers during WWII aboard the destroyer the USS Eaton, he worked as a Los Angeles County lifeguard for 25 years. He was among the first SCUBA divers and worked as a commercial hard hat diver.
“We never did not have a boat. We had power boats and sailboats and were always on the way to Catalina, or just out fishing. He and his buddy Bud Stevenson built two boats in a vacant lot on the corner of Pier Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway. Bud’s was named “the city of Hermosa” and Dad’s was “Miss Hermosa,” Terri Wise recalled.
During his years as a home builder, Wise was known to recycle old toilets as fishing reefs off of Hermosa.
Following his wife Betty’s death in 1986, Wise moved to Palm Desert, where he became part owner of Smokey’s restaurant and continued to build houses.
He is survived by daughters Terri and Robin Wise, granddaughters Angela, Shannon, and Becca, and great grandsons Evan and Ian. The family asked that any contributions be made to a favorite charity, particularly any having to do with the ocean.
