Remembering Webster

Deirdre Newman

The irrepressible spirit of Steve Webster, a local surfer who was

killed in a car-bomb attack at an Indonesian nightclub last weekend,

shone brightly Saturday at the 52nd Street Jetty paddle out ceremony

in his honor.

As soon as friend Trent Walker started reminiscing about Webster,

the sun pierced the overcast sky, shining a beam of light and warmth

-- two traits Webster personified -- onto the huge crowd gathered on

the sand in Newport Beach.

About 350 friends, family and fellow surfers, including U.S. Rep.

Dana Rohrabacher in a wetsuit, converged at Webster’s favorite

surfing spot to pay tribute. With words, they painted a portrait of a

gregarious, genuine person, an “instabro” to everyone he met, who

lived life to the fullest and always had an entertaining story to

share about his exploits.

“As you got to know him, he was so genuine you couldn’t help but

like him,” Walker said, in a speech punctuated by heavy sighs. “Web

loved everybody more than they loved him.”

Webster was killed Oct. 12 at the Sari nightclub in Bali. Close to

200 people died and hundreds more were injured in the car-bomb blast.

He had been on a surfing trip to celebrate his 41st birthday with two

friends -- John Parodi Jr, 42, of Huntington Beach and William

Stephen Cabler, 42, of Newport Beach.

Parodi, who identified Webster’s body Monday, was not in the bar

when the attack happened. Cabler was injured in the incident,

suffering burns to his hands and severe hearing loss.

Cabler came to the memorial in a wheelchair. His ear problems have

caused him to lose his sense of balance. Cabler, who sings in the

band El Centro, said he lost 100% of the hearing in his left ear and

50% of the hearing in his right ear. There is a chance some of it

will return.

Although he would rather have participated in the paddle out

ceremony, the survivor said he was glad to be able to come to honor

his friend.

“This is a wonderful celebration of [Webster’s] life,” Cabler

said. “Everyone came together -- Americans of all colors.”

Co-founder of S&S; Commercial Environmental Inc., Webster worked

out of a West Newport office a block away from the beach, allowing

him to pursue his favorite pastime.

Fellow surfers said the luminous Webster embodied the

unadulterated joy of the sport.

“I didn’t know him that well, but I was affected by his presence

in the water,” said Dick McCoy, 50, of Costa Mesa. “When he was in

the water, he glowed.”

Webster’s widow, Mona, still visibly shaken from the loss, used

the leis around her neck to brush away tears as she listened to the

tributes to her late husband.

His stepdaughter, Samantha Bustamante, 16, asked the crowd to do

two things for her and her family: to smile at least once during the

day for her father and to spread the message of how her father was

the “best man who walked this Earth.”

Webster’s brother, Brian, 40, encouraged the surfers in attendance

to share their comrade’s loving spirit beyond this weekend.

“A lot of people knew my brother, so when you guys are out in the

water in the next week, five years, 10 years, and see someone that

was here, give them a hug and think of Steve Webster,” Brian said,

breaking down in tears.

Many of the surfers sported t-shirts, created in the last week by

Webster’s sister-in-law, Abbie de Reyes. The shirts read “Terrorists

Don’t Surf.”

Bill Lachmar, 46, a business partner and surfing buddy of

Webster’s, used his tribute as a means of exhorting the crowd to take

action against terrorism.

“That’s why we’re here -- because a terrorist took a good friend

of mine away. Well, that’s unacceptable,” Lachmar yelled

passionately. “What are you going to do to change it?”

While surfers, traditionally, are a peaceful, mellow group,

freedom is something that requires fighting for, Lachmar said,

equating terrorists to bullies on a schoolyard playground.

Rohrabacher echoed Lachmar’s sentiments, disclosing that he

mentioned Webster’s death to President Bush. He presented Mona

Webster with a letter of condolence from the president.

“A benevolent soul was murdered by terrorists and we are committed

to make sure it never happens to us again,” Rohrabacher said.

Jim Hogan, a 20-year surfing-buddy of Webster’s, suggested

dedicating the 52nd Street Jetty to him with some type of memorial.

When asked, Rohrabacher said he would work with the Newport Beach

City Council on that.

After family and friends paid their tribute to Webster, more than

250 surfers paddled out about 150 yards into a “missing formation,”

forming a giant circle.

“It’s beautiful,” Mona Webster said of the ceremony. “This is all

my friends and family. It’s helping me cope with what I’m going

through.”

Surfers said words of remembrance for Steve Webster, prayed and

then, as chants of “Webby, Webby” filled the air, the leis around

their necks went flying. A plane trailing a banner that said

“Webster’s Boys” circled the crowd a few times to jubilant cheers.

While the paddle out ceremony was taking place, Webster’s son,

Dylan, 6, carefully crafted a sand memorial for his father. He made a

mound of sand, circled it with leis and placed a bright pink rose in

the middle -- a reminder of his father’s vibrant life.

Donations to honor Webster can be made to the Steven B. Webster

Memorial Trust, PO Box 15967, Newport Beach, CA, 92659-5967.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.