Bruce Taschner

Bruce Taschner

March 8, 1932 - August 22, 2009

Bruce Taschner, a longtime resident of Laguna Beach and

Lake Arrowhead, died Saturday of pancreatic cancer at his

longtime mountain home.

Born March 8, 1932, Bruce

graduated from Hollywood High in

1950 where he excelled in track and

was a member of the Youth Choir at

Hollywood Presbyterian Church. He graduated

from UCLA in 1954, where he

was a member of ROTC and Phi

Kappa Si. He was commissioned as

naval offi cer and served as navigator

and commander on several destroyers. He was a high

school football coach and administrator in Los Angeles

and Orange Counties while continuing his Navy Reserve

career, retiring as Captain.

In 1969, with his wife and two sons then aged 9 and 3,

Bruce and family journeyed from California to sail their

1929 54-foot Alden Ketch without crew through the

Caribbean Sea on an 18-month sabbatical. He transited the

Panama Canal, sailed the West Indies, Gulf of Mexico, Sea

of Cortez, South Pacifi c, Pacifi c Northwest, and his beloved

Catalina Island, with many exciting scrapes and spirited

stories recounting a life of adventure with insightful and

humorous observations of the places and many friends he

encountered.

For many years, Bruce was a winter resident of Puerto

Vallarta. To the end, Bruce was an itinerant traveler adding

to his vast repertoire of sea tales and stories.

He is survived by his wife, two sons, daughter-in-law, and

four grandchildren.

Memorial services at Pacifi c View Park in Corona del

Mar, CA on August 29, 2009 at 1:00pm. In lieu of fl owers,

donations in the name of Bruce Taschner, UCLA Jonsson

Cancer Center Foundation, 8-950 Factor Building, Box

951780, Los Angeles, CA, 90095.