David Nordee

David Nordee October 10, 2004David Nordee lost his valiant fight against cancer on Sunday, October 10, 2004. He was 56. He grew up in Long Beach. He attended Long Beach Poly High School where he played waterpolo and graduated in 1966. He went to Cal State Long Beach where he received his BA in English, and then on to USC where he got his Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking. For over 17 years he was a Long Beach Lifeguard and loved working on the beaches and on the boats. He always had some wonderful stories to tell of his lifeguarding days. He even made a 16mm film in 1974 about A Day In The Life Of A Lifeguard, and always felt the movie Lifeguard with Sam Elliot was based on his script and film. He met Robin at Cal State, where they had a Shakespeare seminar together. Their first date was attending a protest for the Kent State Shootings in early May of 1970. They married in 1973, and in 1979 Emily was born and 2 years later Drew arrived on the scene. David taught filmmaking and photography at Long Beach City College and Marymount College, Palos Verdes, before getting his high school teachi ng credential. For the past 20 years he taught for LAUSD, and spent the last dozen or so years teaching English and Social Studies at Huntington Park High School where he was dearly loved and appreciated by both faculty and students. David was a natural athlete and loved to body surf, jog, and was an avid swimmer. It was nothing for him to swim 2000 meters several days a week. Being a total California beach boy, he loved his convertibles, and owned 3 during the past 10 years. He loved to talk politics and watching the evening news was a sacred ritual for him. Two of his favorite movies were " For The Road" and " Beauties". Although he and Robin were no longer married, they remained best friends and were both completely involved in raising their children. David always insisted on celebrating special occasions: Birthdays, Graduations, Promotions and Holidays called for a special dinner out or he would cook gourmet foods for the family. His specialites were barbequed lobster tails and filet mignon roast s. His proudest moments were when Emily graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2002, and when Drew graduated from Berkeley last year. For both of these special occasions, the family spent time wine tasting in Paso Robles and Napa. David is survived by Robin Tweedy Nordee, their children, Emily Nordee and Drew Nordee, his mother Sophie Nordee and his older brother, Tom Nordee of Cypress. In lieu of flowers, please send a contibution to Trinity Care Hospice 18331 Gridley Rd. Ste F Cerritos, CA 90703. me morial service will be held tonight at Forest Lawn, Cypress Thursday Evening at 6pm. October 14, 2004.