Passages
Former surf instructor also taught skiing and tennis
A former Santa Cruz surf instructor died Wednesday while surfing near Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Jonathan Luhn, 44, of San Francisco, worked at Aloha Wave Riders in Santa Cruz for about five years and had been surfing for many years, his longtime friend Chris Ewing said Thursday.
Luhn and Ewing started the school about seven years ago, Ewing said. It has been inactive recently, but Luhn was considering reactivating it, said Ewing, a Santa Clara resident. He was a gifted teacher who was well liked by surfers at Four Mile Beach north of Santa Cruz, where he was a regular, Ewing said. He lived in Santa Cruz for a time as well, he said.
"He was also a professional ski and tennis instructor," he said. "But surfing was his real first love. Jon was super kind-hearted and spiritual kind of person. He was very giving and lovable and wonderful and charming. I had to use so many adjectives, but that was Jon. He has a zillion friends." Luhn did volunteer work with the homeless and people battling drug and alcohol addictions, Ewing said. He was engaged to a San Francisco woman, he said.
He worked as a freelance accountant and grew up in the San Jose area, he said. His body was spotted floating in the water Wednesday afternoon, according to the medical examiner's office in San Francisco.