John Kelly shows a model of his Hydroplane surfboard. It was his "hot curl" design is credited as a development leading to big-wave surfing.
ADVERTISER LIBRARY PHOTO | Nov. 29, 1963
In the days before he died Wednesday, there was much that John M. Kelly Jr. couldn't remember about his storied life:
That he invented the hydroplane surfboard and was one of the first surfers to ride the waves at Makaha;
That he was a decorated sailor and Juilliard School graduate who wrote books, conducted symphonies and spoke out against nuclear weapons;
That he founded a grass-roots environmental group responsible for saving 140 surf sites on O'ahu.
But there was one thing that Kelly, who had Alzheimer's for nearly two decades, could never forget: his love of the ocean.
Even just a few months ago, Kelly, lanky and nimble, would swim back and forth in the saltwater pool near his home at Black Point.
It was this passion — for the ocean, for human rights, for environmental causes — that people will remember.
Kelly passed away quietly and peacefully, his family said, in his bed on Wednesday afternoon, his 64th wedding anniversary. He was 88.
"He was probably the greatest humanitarian I've ever met in my life, and I've looked around," said longtime friend and fellow surfer George Downing, 77. "You couldn't buy John, you know what I mean? And people tried. You just couldn't budg
YO! IVE BEEN RIPPIN UP THE STREETS WIT MY OS3 RINCON ROCKER, AND THAT BOARD IS FUCKING GNARLY! IM ACTUALLY THINKIN OF BUYING YOU'LLS OG WHITE FISH! KEEP UP WIT MAKIN THEM BADASS BOARDS!
Yo man I have just started LONG BOARDING, and the first board I got was an OS3....its awesome...I am really cuttin the hills......your board is awesome keep on doin what you doin......C/B
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