Carlsbad teacher remembered for love of surfing, family

When Carl Miller and his buddies surfed North County beaches in the 1950s, there were no such things as wetsuits and leashes for their board. Sometimes, he said a decade ago in a documentary, there was no one else on the beach.

“I’d be all alone out there,” Miller said.

A local resident much of his life, Miller died March 15 at the age of 87 in his Carlsbad home after a two-year battle with cancer.

He was born in Pasadena, but his family had a vacation house in Oceanside, so he began coming to the area as a youth and became a local lifeguard.

He attended University of

Southern California in Los Angeles but also continued to spend time in Oceanside where he met Patricia Van Epps, a Michigan native, who at age 18, visiting her great aunts in Carlsbad, saw the ocean for the first time.

Patricia attended Miracosta College, and the Millers married in 1958.

Their son, John, of Carlsbad, said his parents’ story was a wonderful one of a Midwestern girl’s meeting a lifeguard and their falling in love.

Patricia said they decided they should make their home in Carlsbad — and so they did — on Basswood Avenue where they became close friends with that street’s best-known inhabitants, the late Claude “Bud” and Beverly Lewis. “Bud” Lewis was a teacher and coach at Carlsbad High who served 40 years in local government, 16 as city councilman and 24 as mayor.

Miller, like Lewis, taught (biology) at Carlsbad High — for 40 years — and coached football for several years. He also taught biology at Miracosta.

His wife and son said they have received “overwhelming love from the community.” She said former students call him the best teacher ever.

The aforementioned documentary, produced by Ken Kebow and Ric Shellhammer, was a winner in the 2010 Fallbrook Film Festival and was shown on San Diego television.

It starts with Miller and his buddies, John “L.J.” Richards and Doug Tico, talking about surfing — about driving along sand from Oceanside to Solana

Beach and about burning tires on the beach to keep warm in the evenings.

Besides his wife and son, Miller leaves John’s wife, Joan, and their two children, Abby and Hannah; and two daughters, Susan Castillo and her husband, Marco Castillo of Carlsbad and their two children, Marc and Tom, and Nancy Hart and her husband John of Seattle and their two children, Molly and Jack.

The Millers are longtime members of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Carlsbad. Memorial services — because of COVID-19 for family only — will be held there May 2.

Couple honored

Carol and John Herrera were honored last weekend with “lifetime-achievement” awards at an online 10th annual “Heroes of Vista” program sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and Vista Educational Foundation.

“There are so many people who could have received it,” Carol Herrera said in an interview. “We were so honored.”

“We have loved living in Vista,” she said. “There’s a wealth of opportunities for volunteers.”

Herrera was principal of Kelly Elementary School in Carlsbad for 16 years and a Vista Unified School District board member for a like amount of time, wrapping up her service two years ago.

John Herrera has been active in everything from the Vista Educational Foundation, which he and his wife helped found, to Hispanic Americans for Progress. A U.S. Navy veteran, he entered politics briefly, running for state Assembly and Vista City Council, before concentrating on volunteer efforts.

His wife said they got into volunteering because “we wanted to send a message to our son (Christopher) about the importance of volunteering.” They thought “we’d better walk our talk.”

In presenting the award, former state Assemblyman Rocky Chávez said there is “no greater couple in the city of Vista. They truly are heroes of Vista.”

The 90-minute program included myriad other awards to businesses, nonprofits and individuals. A full list is available on the chamber website at vistachamber.org.