Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Paddle-out for Loren Nancarrow

“He taught us to accept the end with dignity and grace.”

I first met newscaster Loren Nancarrow in the early 1980s. I was a community activist in Encinitas, helping our unincorporated communities advance toward cityhood. When he would show up to one of our press conferences with his News 8 cameraperson, he always greeted me first, remembering me by name.

On December 30, over 1000 people showed up at Seaside Beach in Cardiff by the Sea to remember Loren's name with a memorial paddle-out. He lost his almost one-year battle with brain cancer on December 28.

Sponsored
Sponsored

With the beach crowd standing around pictures of Loren, his brother-in-law, Stephen Spegler, gave the eulogy of a man who was not only known as a reporter, weatherperson, news anchor, and organic gardener — his TV persona — but the “manifestation of a life well lived.”

As surfers and paddleboarders of all ages made their way out beyond the breakers, everyone I spoke with on shore used the same term when describing San Diego’s loss of a “great guy.” Some people just showed up, saying they'd never met the newsman but felt they knew him.

Mar Dels frontman Doug Allen said Loren “was very personable on and off camera. He taught us to accept the end with dignity and grace.”

Jane Schmauss, a director of the California Surf Museum, said she knew Loren through his wife Susie. “Susie used to babysit my kids when she went to San Dieguito High,” she said. “And now my son, daughter, and grandson are out in the water to honor him.”

Those of us who stayed on shore held lighted candles as the sun set. A large sailboat was placed between the surfers and the ocean’s horizon. As the sky darkened, the candles were placed in the sand, around a heart with Loren’s name written in the sand.

Perhaps the biggest compliment to Loren's work was reflected in the number of TV-news people who attended. In a media market like San Diego's, where there are seven TV stations competing for ratings, there is fierce competition for on-air jobs. Loren was on the air in San Diego for over 30 years.

Some of Loren's competitors showed up to honor his career, which started at KFMB (8); then he went to KGTV (10); he ended up an evening-news anchor at Fox5. Former KGTV anchors Hal Clement and Carol LeBeau were there, as were former KFMB reporter Chris Saunders, current KNSD (7) sportscaster Jim Laslavic, and several cast and crew members from FOX5, including fellow meteorologist/anchor Brad Wills.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Thanksgiving Lunch Cruise, The Avengers and Zeros ‘77, Small Business Saturday In Escondido

Events November 28-November 30, 2024

I first met newscaster Loren Nancarrow in the early 1980s. I was a community activist in Encinitas, helping our unincorporated communities advance toward cityhood. When he would show up to one of our press conferences with his News 8 cameraperson, he always greeted me first, remembering me by name.

On December 30, over 1000 people showed up at Seaside Beach in Cardiff by the Sea to remember Loren's name with a memorial paddle-out. He lost his almost one-year battle with brain cancer on December 28.

Sponsored
Sponsored

With the beach crowd standing around pictures of Loren, his brother-in-law, Stephen Spegler, gave the eulogy of a man who was not only known as a reporter, weatherperson, news anchor, and organic gardener — his TV persona — but the “manifestation of a life well lived.”

As surfers and paddleboarders of all ages made their way out beyond the breakers, everyone I spoke with on shore used the same term when describing San Diego’s loss of a “great guy.” Some people just showed up, saying they'd never met the newsman but felt they knew him.

Mar Dels frontman Doug Allen said Loren “was very personable on and off camera. He taught us to accept the end with dignity and grace.”

Jane Schmauss, a director of the California Surf Museum, said she knew Loren through his wife Susie. “Susie used to babysit my kids when she went to San Dieguito High,” she said. “And now my son, daughter, and grandson are out in the water to honor him.”

Those of us who stayed on shore held lighted candles as the sun set. A large sailboat was placed between the surfers and the ocean’s horizon. As the sky darkened, the candles were placed in the sand, around a heart with Loren’s name written in the sand.

Perhaps the biggest compliment to Loren's work was reflected in the number of TV-news people who attended. In a media market like San Diego's, where there are seven TV stations competing for ratings, there is fierce competition for on-air jobs. Loren was on the air in San Diego for over 30 years.

Some of Loren's competitors showed up to honor his career, which started at KFMB (8); then he went to KGTV (10); he ended up an evening-news anchor at Fox5. Former KGTV anchors Hal Clement and Carol LeBeau were there, as were former KFMB reporter Chris Saunders, current KNSD (7) sportscaster Jim Laslavic, and several cast and crew members from FOX5, including fellow meteorologist/anchor Brad Wills.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

East Village Tree Lighting & Holiday Market, Holiday Gondola Cruise

Events November 30-December 4, 2024
Next Article

O’side Tree Lighting & Gift Market, Holiday Lights at the Museum, The Elovaters and Little Stranger

Events December 5-December 6, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader