Patrick Martin O’Shea
October 22, 1944- June 25, 2025

Pat was born in Eureka to Bill and Helen O’Shea. He grew up in Eureka and attended local schools: Grant, Marshall, and Washington elementary schools, Eureka Junior High, and was a 1963 graduate of Eureka High School. In his early days, he spent a lot of time with his lifelong friend Joe Walund, playing in the woods and gulches, damming creeks, building tree forts and riding bikes. Pat was a true fun-loving character.

After graduation, Pat worked as a salesman for Glaser Bros., a wholesale distributing company. After leaving Eureka in 1970, he continued working in sales for other distributing companies, including Sysco. He spent many years living in Hollister before moving to Bakersfield in his retirement.

He and his wife Linda enjoyed many relaxing trips to Morro Bay and numerous fun trips to Reno. Pat was a long-time member of the Clampers, Elks, and Moose Lodge. He was the life of the party and always had an entertaining story to share. Pat recently moved back to Eureka.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Helen O’Shea, and his older brother, Mike. He is survived by his wife, Linda, as well as his longtime friends Joe Walund, Ralph Norling, and Bill Stringer.

An informal gathering in remembrance of Pat will be held in the back room of the Vista Del Mar on Saturday, August 23, from 2 to 4 p.m.

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A 70-year-old fishermen from the tiny fishing community of Quilcene, Wash., recently vanished without a trace while on a solo fishing trip.

The man, Joel William Kawahara, disappeared shortly after he embarked, a week ago Wednesday Friday. Maritime GPS tracked his unmanned vessel, the Karolee, as it continued slowly south — still rigged for fishing, its lights on, life raft secure in its cradle — until it was intercepted by the crew of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter on Wednesday morning and towed into Humboldt Bay.

After the boat was recovered, the Coast Guard suspended its search for Kawahara. 

On a memorial website, friends shared photos and stories, with one poster describing him as “a person of the highest order, with a rare mix of integrity, intelligence, optimism, passion, and humility, all in one so very likable human.” 

Here’s the press release from the U.S. Coast Guard:

The Coast Guard suspended its search for a missing fisherman off the coast of Oregon and Washington around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Missing is a 65-year-old man. [NOTE: Kawahara was 70, according to his memorial website.]

Coast Guard crews searched over 18 hours, scouring an area of 2,100 sq. miles, including over 430 miles of trackline.

The man departed alone on his fishing vessel, the Karolee, the week prior and was last heard from at 7:30 a.m., Friday, Aug. 8. The boat could be seen via its automatic identification system (AIS) and was traveling a constant southerly course at approximately four knots for several days.

Coast Guard watchstanders made numerous call outs to the Karolee and asked mariners in the area to do the same. No communication was ever received from the Karolee.

On Tuesday morning, a Coast Guard C-27 fixed-wing aircrew from Air Station Sacramento responded to the position of the vessel and attempted to make contact but nothing was heard. The aircrew visually noticed that the vessel was rigged for fishing, lights were energized, and a life raft was observed in its cradle.

The aircrew flew over the vessels’ previous course but did not find any signs of distress. The crew then flew back to Sacramento.

Around noon, watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s Northwest District command center dispatched an MH-60 helicopter from Air Station Astoria and Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Denman to assist in the search efforts. In addition, a boat crew from Coast Guard Station Neah Bay was launched and completed a shoreline search from Cape Flattery towards La Push, Wash.

The MH-60 searched for several hours in the waters west of Grays Harbor, Wash., and then returned to Astoria. The Douglas Denman arrived at the designated area by 8 p.m. and began searching. The Douglas Denman’s search lasted through the night.

The crew searched the trackline where the vessel traversed off the coast of Washington and Oregon to look for any signs of distress.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s Southwest District command center diverted the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Lion to intercept the vessel and confirm if anyone was onboard.

The crew of the Sea Lion arrived on scene with the Karolee around 10 a.m., Wednesday, conducted a boarding, and confirmed no one was onboard. The Coast Guard crew also noted that all safety equipment was located onboard the vessel.

With no additional reports of distress or responses to callouts, the Coast Guard suspended the search. 

The crew of the Sea Lion took the Karolee in tow and brought it to Eureka, Calif., where it was transferred to a Station Humboldt Bay boat crew. The vessel is now moored in Eureka.

“Suspending a search for someone is the toughest decision we make in the Coast Guard” said Cmdr. Chelsey Stroud, search and rescue mission coordinator for the Coast Guard’s Northwest District. “Our crews diligently search hundreds of miles. We are grateful for the numerous Coast Guard crews along the West Coast who assisted in this search. We send our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of the missing man.”

You’ve probably seen the smudges and lines of what looks like light blue paint on the streets, always in front of garbage containers or where they have recently been. A closer look reveals that it is blue plastic rubbed off the bottom of recycling and garbage receptacles when they are dragged by service trucks. You might have also noticed curlicues of plastic being stripped from the bottoms and sides of the bins, either from abrasion on the streets or from the large metal forks that move the receptacles. Though nearly all the scuff marks are on street surfaces, the one in the picture represents a container being dragged along an elevated curb. I include it here because it’s the clearest example from several photos taken over a few years. The other picture shows curlicues and scraps I’ve collected on my neighborhood walks in McKinleyville.

The telltale blue streak on the curb. Click photo to enlarge.

It might be unrealistic to expect Recology — our laudable cleanup and recycling enterprise — or any other company on the planet that works on this large scale, to replace their containers, at least in the short term. However, I’ve written this piece in an attempt to get the ball rolling, hoping that others will join my voice for change. At this point in our collective ecological consciousness, it is glaringly known how toxic and pervasive plastic is. I don’t need to detail how its overuse, alongside other devastating practices such as blithely hopping on airplanes for vacations, is destroying species and habitats. (This world traveler hasn’t been on a plane since 2019 — but that’s another article.)

Four years ago I brought a small bag of the blue shavings to the Recology office, simply to share evidence that a company with such a name is actively creating plastic waste headed directly into the gutters and then the ocean. The employee I spoke with was just about polite, but I got the sense that she thought me a weirdo and I was pretty sure that little bag was headed straight for the trash and not to any future meeting regarding clean practices. From there I contacted a couple of people at the Northcoast Environmental Center, emailing images of smudges and streaks on the streets, as well an image of the shavings. Our communication went well enough in the moment but did not lead to any change.

Surprisingly, I have not found references to any cities having addressed plastic waste generated from recycling and trash bins. I have come across the suggestion to apply protective coatings (but of what?) to a bin’s underside or placing a buffer material between the bin and asphalt. Might the arms of the metal forks get a rubber wrap to avoid cutting into the plastic? Could Humboldt County set a precedent in trying to solve this? Arcata’s city council, after all, was the first in the nation to have a Green Party majority. My friends and I, naively, used to refer to Humboldt as Ecotopia — but the county still sets stellar examples of different environmental practices. Just think of the transformation that became the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary.

What to be done, then? Recology might respond if citizens visit their office with little bags of blue plastic shavings, followed up by letters, phone calls, and photos. We could make a sculpture of plastic bits and set it in the Arcata Plaza to replace President McKinley, akin to the Artula Institute’s Washed Ashore project: you may have seen the elaborate sculptures fashioned from ocean waste on display in Bandon, Oregon and elsewhere. Perhaps most effectively, Recology could put an employee to the task of sorting this out. In the meantime, I’ll keep picking up trash on my daily walks and talking to kids about good practices as I teach my poetry residencies. The steps to be taken range from small to global. For instance, it’s hard to imagine that any readers are still buying sponges made with petroleum-based plastic — which means choosing to put plastic directly into their drains — when alternatives are sitting right next to them on our store shelves. The kids know what’s happening and they wonder when the adults will stop sleepwalking.

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Dan Zev Levinson is a teacher and a poet. His website is zevlev.com.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• POLL! Which of These Should Be Humboldt’s Official ‘I VOTED’ Sticker in the Next Election?

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Press release from the Humboldt County Clerk/Recorder/Registrar of Voters:

The Humboldt County Office of Elections revealed the winning designs of Humboldt County’s “I Voted” Sticker Contest at the Humboldt County Fair on Saturday, Aug. 16.

Congrats, Adeline! Second place in LoCO Pollz.

Humboldt County’s “I Voted” Sticker Contest invited youth and adult artists to create sticker designs that celebrated voting and showcased the county’s unique natural environment.

Adeline Pierce, a student at Sunny Brae Middle School, was named the youth winner and recognized in for her winning design that featuring a banana slug. “I love the forest and banana slugs,” said Pierce of her winning design. “When I was little me and my family would go on long walks through the forest. I adored banana slugs and would name them and build them slug houses, so of course I decided to do a banana slug design.”

Congrats, Carly! First place in LoCO Pollz.

Carly Haynes, a local educator, was named the adult winner and said her design featuring an otter is meant to represent one of her favorite places in Humboldt County, the lagoons by Trinidad. “I also wanted to stay true to Humboldt’s weirdness which is why an alien spaceship is seen abducting an elk. I included ‘I Voted’ in Spanish, Hmong, Pashto and Vietnamese because these are some of the languages my students hear or speak at home. I wanted everyone in our community to feel included.”

The winning youth and adult designs will be featured in vote-by-mail ballots through 2027.

“Voting is both a right and a privilege, and this contest was a fun way to engage our community and encourage voting in Humboldt,” said Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder & Registrar of Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes. “I’d like to thank everyone who shared their creativity, voted for their favorite designs and joined us at the Humboldt County Fair to celebrate the winners.”

For more information about the Humboldt County’s “I Voted” Sticker Contest, visit humboldtgov.org/elections, email humboldt_elections@co.humboldt.ca.us or call 707-445-7841.

About the Humboldt County Elections Office

The Humboldt County Office of Elections is committed to ensuring all eligible residents have an opportunity to exercise their right to vote, conducting elections in a fair, accurate and efficient manner, providing reliable information and the best possible service to voters, districts, candidates and other interested parties. For more information, please visit humboldtgov.org/elections.

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Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On August 17, at about 3:21 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the area of Mal Coombs Park in Shelter Cove for the report of a small aircraft accident.

According to the reporting party, the aircraft crashed into the water approximately 100 yards offshore. Shelter Cove Fire, CAL FIRE, and the U.S. Coast Guard were also dispatched to the scene. Shelter Cove Fire personnel were the first to arrive and located two adult male occupants of the aircraft in the water. Both individuals were able to exit the plane prior to rescue.

Shelter Cove Fire personnel quickly deployed into the water, recovered the victims, and provided emergency medical care. One victim was stabilized at the scene and transported by air ambulance to an out-of-area hospital with major injuries. The second victim was pronounced deceased at the scene and was released to the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office. The identity of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

A preliminary investigation indicates the plane took off from the Shelter Cove Airport, turned west, and shortly after plunged into the ocean. Both occupants are believed to be out-of-county residents.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is working in partnership with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to investigate this incident. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Shelter Cove Fire Department, CAL FIRE, the U.S. Coast Guard, the NTSB, and the FAA for their assistance and collaborative response.

Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251.

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This story — by Alexi Kosseff, Alejandro Laso and Maya C. Miller — was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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The oil industry is having an I-told-you-so moment in California.

For decades, the state has raced to end its reliance on fossil fuels and prioritize clean energy. Its relationship with oil companies became particularly contentious in the past two years, as Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislators held two special sessions to crack down on alleged price gouging at the pump.

But now two of its last remaining fuel refineries are closing sooner than California expected, tossing a simmering emergency into officials’ laps. With a hotly debated forecast that $8-per-gallon gasoline might be on the horizon, there has been a remarkable shift at the state Capitol. Led by Newsom, who just last fall was lambasting oil companies for “screwing” consumers, California may soon let its black gold flow again.

“We are all the beneficiaries of oil and gas. No one’s naive about that,” Newsom said at a press conference last month. “So it’s always been about finding a just transition, a pragmatism in terms of that process.”

Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders are now negotiating a plan with the industry to boost stagnating production in California’s oil-drilling hub of Kern County — and avert a nightmare scenario for a governor with national ambitions and a party that has promised to focus on affordability. Lawmakers could pass a measure before the end of their annual session in mid-September, though the details remain unsettled and environmental groups are raising alarms.

The headspinning realignment potentially heralds a new era in California’s transition to a carbon-free future, as high costs, technological impediments and flagging political will force Democrats to recalibrate their ambitious climate goals. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are also taking aim at the state’s vast powers to regulate its greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, including revoking California’s mandate to phase out gas-powered vehicles and slashing renewable energy tax credits.

“We all need to kind of evolve. Maybe that’s just the lesson on climate. There’s not really a purity test on this. It’s not like civil rights,” said state Sen. Henry Stern, a Calabasas Democrat who five years ago was publicly advocating for keeping more California oil in the ground.

As both a staffer and a legislator, Stern worked on major laws to require buffer zones around oil wells in sensitive areas and restrict the well stimulation technique known as fracking. But he said he does not want California to see the same backlash to climate action as western Europe, where environmentally focused Green parties have recently been crushed electorally by far-right populists.

“We can perform a muscular version of climate policy that doesn’t have to be so all-or-nothing,” Stern said.

Oil industry forces Newsom’s hand

Refinery closures are accelerating the pressure in Sacramento. Two days after Newsom signed a law increasing state oversight of maintenance, Phillips 66 announced in October that it would shut its Los Angeles facility by the end of 2025 because of concerns over the sustainability of the California market. Then in April, Valero declared it would close its Benicia refinery next year, citing a challenging regulatory environment.

That would leave only six major facilities to refine crude oil into transportation fuels in a state that remains the country’s second-largest gasoline consumer after Texas, as well as a major user of jet fuel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A business professor at the University of Southern California projected the loss of refining capacity, which will be offset with more expensive imports of finished fuel, combined with additional state actions, could send gasoline prices spiraling past $8 per gallon by the end of 2026.

Republicans pounced on that figure to criticize Newsom for fomenting an energy crisis in California, sparking fierce pushback from the governor’s office, which has dismissed the report as an “unscientific analysis” by a professor with close ties to the oil industry. Other experts have estimated a smaller effect on prices, which currently average about $4.49 per gallon in California, according to AAA, $1.33 higher than the national average but lower than they’ve been since January.

The Western States Petroleum Association — the powerful Sacramento-based lobby for the oil and gas industry that has donated more than $330,000 to lawmakers in the past decade — blames taxes, fees and regulations for California’s high prices. Decades of state rules, including strict emissions targets, a ban on the additive MTBE, and requirements for a special gasoline blend, traditionally make refining more expensive. Drilling in California is also in what the industry calls “terminal decline” as the Newsom administration has largely stopped issuing new permits, forcing a greater reliance on foreign countries such as Brazil, Iraq, Guyana and Ecuador with looser labor and environmental standards.

“At some point, are you going to have enough supply to meet California’s demands?” said Catherine Reheis-Boyd, CEO of the petroleum association, who evoked the fuel shortages and long lines at gas stations that followed a 1973 embargo against the United States by other oil-producing nations. “People’s lives were completely disrupted.”

Industry leaders argue pumping more crude oil in California, particularly in Kern County, could help meet demand at a lower cost. But if the state doesn’t act quickly, they warn that production could drop so low it would shut down pipelines between local oil fields and refineries, further exacerbating a crisis of California’s own creation.

“For me, I don’t care if the motivation is political or policy. I’m very happy that we’re having a conversation about something that’s really impactful to the consumers of California,” Reheis-Boyd said.

Climate commitment meets reality

After years of making the oil industry into a political boogeyman, Newsom has become surprisingly receptive to its message.

Gone is the bombastic governor who declared to a United Nations summit in 2023 that “this climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis,” or strong-armed the Legislature that same year into adopting a law that could penalize oil companies for excessive profits.

In April, after Valero said it would close its Benicia refinery, Newsom directed Siva Gunda, vice chair of the California Energy Commission, to “redouble the state’s efforts to work closely with refiners on short- and long-term planning” and ensure a “reliable supply of transportation fuels.”

Gunda returned a series of recommendations in June that closely aligned with the industry’s wishlist, including stabilizing in-state crude production, rolling back regulations that limit imports and improving investor confidence.

While the commission is exploring delaying implementation of the profit penalty and refinery maintenance oversight laws, Newsom began circulating a draft bill that would provide blanket approval for environmental reviews of Kern County wells to sidestep litigation that has stalled drilling. That proposal is now at the center of negotiations over a legislative package that could simultaneously create new standards for restarting offshore drilling, require the industry to plug more idle wells and end the use of fracking.

“We’re in the ‘how’ business. We move to a low-carbon, green-growth future, change the way we produce and consume energy,” Newsom said at the press conference last month. “At the same time, we have enough available fuel supplies, a stable fuel supply and address the anxieties around cost. Both and.”

Matt Rodriguez, a longtime Democratic consultant who has worked in California and on several presidential campaigns, said Newsom is caught between a commitment to climate action that is important to the left and a substantive problem that could hurt both the economy and individual voters.

“The reality is that gas prices are higher here than the rest of the nation. That’s just undeniable,” he said. “If there are storm clouds on the horizon, you can’t just sit there and ignore it.”

The larger the gap between the price at the pump in California and in other states, Rodriguez said, the greater the liability it poses in a future presidential campaign for Newsom, who will likely also face criticism for how his own policies contributed to the problem. But Rodriguez said there is a potential upside if the governor can negotiate a solution with the oil industry, allowing him to tout himself as a pragmatist rather than an ideologue.

“Any way that he can keep gas prices from ballooning, that’s his imperative,” Rodriguez said.

‘We didn’t have a champion’

Environmental groups, meanwhile, are up in arms. More than 120 signed a letter earlier this month opposing Newsom’s push, which they characterized as an industry giveaway that would “gravely harm the air we breathe and water we drink around the state, but have no impact on refinery closures or gas prices.”

Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, called the governor’s proposal to streamline approval of new Kern County wells a “drill, baby, drill” plan that would “eviscerate” California’s bedrock environmental review law for one of its core purposes: reining in a polluting industry.

He noted that courts already struck down earlier versions of the idea when Kern County tried it, because the environmental review was deemed insufficient. Last month, the county passed a third version of the plan, which Newsom’s bill would enshrine into state law.

“It’s a very misguided and ill-conceived proposal,” Kretzmann said.

Martha Dina Argüello, executive director of the Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles, remembers attending a press conference last September, outside the Inglewood Oil Field, where Newsom signed a trio of new laws aimed at cleaning up idle wells and restricting oil and gas operations. She said she was “stunned” by the governor’s rapid reversal and warned that it would allow the oil industry to gut public health protections under the guise of affordability, passing the costs on to low-income communities near oil fields and refineries that have higher asthma and cancer risks from exposure to toxic chemicals.

“You don’t often get champions who are consistent — and it’s very sad that we didn’t have a champion that was really going to do the difficult thing and tell us the changes that we need to make to actually address climate change and air pollution,” she said. “That’s what our communities still need.”

Landing a deal will be tricky

The governor’s office is working to find an approach that can get through the Legislature in a short time frame. Lawmakers return from their summer recess on Monday for the final month of session.

That could necessitate making tradeoffs between priorities for environmentally minded lawmakers on the left, such as protecting the buffer zones around oil wells, and moderates more sympathetic to the industry’s arguments. It’s possible the proposal will be merged with a separate effort to extend California’s cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions, because oil refiners are seeking a more gradual decline in the credits that allow them to emit carbon pollution without paying.

Stern described the mood among lawmakers as “begrudgingly practical,” but also grumpy about having to take on yet another fight over oil, “so nothing feels like a win.” Given the political sensitivities, he said it was possible the Legislature would pass only the provision to boost drilling in Kern County and carry over the rest of the discussion into next year.

Nevertheless, the boundaries of the debate around domestic oil production have completely shifted in Sacramento, with affordability taking on a more prominent role.

Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, an Irvine Democrat who chairs the Assembly’s utilities and energy committee, said the Legislature could no longer afford to treat California’s energy transition like a future aspiration, as previous generations of officials have. Instead, lawmakers must be pragmatic and retain the support of everyday Californians, she said, because without their buy-in, the state will cease to be a climate leader.

“There are some advocates who continue to think that you can somehow just wave a magic wand and end oil production in California without terrible consequences,” she said. “We need California to be an inspiration, and not a cautionary tale.”

An agreement to expand drilling would be a hard-fought victory for Sen. Shannon Grove, a Bakersfield Republican who has spent the majority of her 10-year legislative career repeatedly warning that cutting oil production in California would only increase reliance on imports from countries with lower environmental and labor standards.

“Do I wish that companies and businesses would not have left my district and taken their jobs with them and created a vast unemployment rate? Do I wish that the people who lost their jobs still had their jobs? Do I wish it would have happened sooner?” Grove said. “Yes. But I’m grateful that it’s happening.”

Grove said Kern County, which also is home to some of the state’s largest solar and wind projects, has the potential to be the “energy capital of the United States.” She argues the county has done its due diligence with environmental reviews to ensure that future drilling projects are more climate conscious than importing oil from other countries.

“If you’re going to do it, you have to do it right,” she said, “and Kern County does it right.”

Paul Scott Ostrom
September 13, 1947 – July 15, 2025

Scott Ostrom, beloved father, stepfather, husband, entrepreneur, and pioneer in Northern California’s diving and sporting goods community, passed away peacefully on July 15th at the age of 77.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on September 13, 1947, Scott spent his early childhood in Laie before moving with his family to California. Raised in Citrus Heights and had two younger siblings (Barbara Molen & Loni Brooks) He developed a lifelong passion for the water—becoming a certified scuba diver at 13 and setting regional records in competitive spearfishing during his teenage years. That passion became the foundation for his life’s work.

After graduating from high school in 1965, Scott studied marine biology and oceanography at Sierra College and Humboldt State University. While still a student, he became a NAUI-certified scuba instructor (NAUI Instructor #1254) and began teaching diving at HSU, where he also led multiple university dive trips to Mexico and along the California coast.

In 1970, Scott co-founded Pacific Marine Engineering in Eureka with a couple of dive buddies from HSU. Originally a commercial dive operation, the business began selling dive gear and quickly evolved into a full retail shop. Over the next several decades, Scott and his partners expanded the company into Pro Sport Center in Eureka and The New Outdoor Store in Arcata, offering outdoor gear, athletic shoes, fitness equipment, bicycles, snowboards, hunting and fishing supplies, and more. Scott also continued commercial diving during this time—raising sunken boats, performing underwater repairs, assisting in evidence recovery, and leading search-and-rescue dives.

In 2009, Scott and his partners opened a new store in Ukiah under the name Pacific Outfitters and soon after rebranded the Eureka and Arcata stores to match. His entrepreneurial vision and leadership helped shape these businesses into trusted local institutions, serving the North Coast community for generations.

In 1988, Scott married the love of his life, Marilyn Ostrom, blending their families and creating a warm, welcoming home filled with love, laughter, and a deep appreciation for the outdoors. Together, they shared more than three decades of marriage, building a life rich with travel, adventure, and unforgettable experiences. Whether exploring national parks, road-tripping along the coast, diving in exotic locations, or discovering new places together, Scott and Marilyn embraced every opportunity to live life to the fullest. Their shared passion for nature, family, and each other created a strong and joyful partnership that deeply touched everyone around them.

Scott was an amazing father — patient, hands-on, and always willing to teach. He shared his knowledge generously, teaching his kids how to work on cars, remodel houses and apartments, cook, and master countless other essential life skills. He believed in being self-sufficient and capable, and he made sure his children were, too. Scott also believed in balance. On weekends, he often packed up the family for trips to the lake, where they spent long days wakeboarding, kneeboarding, tubing, and enjoying the sunshine. 

Scott taught by example — to work hard, take pride in what you do, but also to make time for fun, and to create lasting memories. His love and life lessons continue to shape the lives of those he left behind.

In 2019, after a long and courageous battle with cancer, Marilyn passed away, leaving a lasting legacy of strength, love, and resilience. Scott’s devotion to her throughout their journey was a testament to the bond they shared — one rooted in mutual respect, adventure, and enduring love.

Not long after, Scott met Joyce Graham in a grief support group. Their shared experiences brought them together, and they spent the next several years traveling the world as partners.

Scott is survived by his sons, Aaron Ostrom (spouse Leslie Ostrom) and Chris Ostrom Juvencio (spouse Lea Juvencio Ostrom); his stepdaughters, Lisa Gage (spouse Sonny Gage) and Jennifer LaFranchi; and his beloved grandchildren: Karlie Bibler, Alyssa Presson, Alice Ostrom, Tori Willis, Issac Ostrom, and Skyler Ostrom. He is also survived by his siblings, Barbara Molen and Lani Brooks, and their families.

He leaves behind a lasting legacy of business innovation, ocean adventure, and community leadership. He is remembered by countless former students, dive partners, employees, and customers whose lives he touched with his mentorship, generosity, and pioneering spirit.

A celebration of life will be held at the Elks Lodge on September 21st (Sunday) from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. All are welcome to come celebrate and honor Scott’s extraordinary life.