A paddleout for Frank Grannis will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at 6th Street in Hermosa Beach.
Grannis was born August 1, 1945, the son of Palos Verdes Surf Club member and pioneer surf photographer Leroy Grannis. As a result, according to his brother John, Frank had no choice but to become a surfer and quickly became one of the South Bay’s best.
He was also a champion paddle board racer. In 1963, Grannis, Mike Doyle, Jim Graham and another South Bay paddler won the Makaha International Surf Championships paddleboard relay race. It was the first time the race had been won by a non Hawaiian team. Grannis, who was just 17, also placed third in the junior division of the Makaha surf contest that year.
His promising surf career was cut short in his early 20s when he began to suffer from mental illness. Grannis passed away July 2, at age 68, from complications related to a variety of illnesses.
Grannis is survived by siblings John, Alana, and Kaylee Grannis, his mother Nancy Grannis and  David, Liz and Alan Wiig and Kit and Paul Padilla. ER
