David Yudovin was born in 1951 and passed suddenly this past Saturday, March 28th, 2015 at the age of 63.

David was raised in West Los Angeles, the son of Sandy and Lois, the brother of Bobby and Sue.

He attended University High School in Los Angeles and, after high school, continued on to Northern Arizona University (NAU). While attending NAU, David opened a small fish market called Desert Sea Seafood.

After college, David began work with the YMCA in Oklahoma, where he met Mary-Beth Sherron. The two fell in love, married, and moved back to Southern California in the early 1980’s.

David worked for Peterson Seafood as a salmon sorter in his teens and, later upon his return to Southern California, in sales. He also worked for California Seafood with his father, Sandy, in sourcing and sales. I met David in 1983 when he visited Atlantis Seafood in Wilmington to look at breaded squid products. He and Beth began Ocean Crystal Seafood in 1985 along with Los Angeles Seafood Handling Co. Located in a small office 48 inches deep by 80 inches wide, two chairs, three phones, arranged hot-line style on a plywood desk, and a fax machine. After securing a warehouseman to take care of the logistics, David and Beth moved from Southern California in 1988 to their new home and office in Cambria, CA. They built a new facility in 1991 and opened South Bay Cold Storage and Handling, Inc as a compliment to Ocean Crystal in 1995.

David and Beth retired and sold both companies to key employees in 2005.

A defining characteristic was David’s love of the water. A surfer and yachtsman, David’s passion was long distance swimming. As the holder of many records and an impressive string of firsts, David has swum the Catalina Channel, English Channel, Tsugaru Straits, Cook Straits, Straits of Gibraltar, Sunda Strait, Bali Strait, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe and many, many, many others. All of these were with Beth managing logistics and the support boat in his wake. His brother, Bobby paddled alongside in many events, running interference against sharks and hypothermia. David was training for the Maldives at the time of his passing. He’d participated in numerous Anacapa and Catalina Relays as well as paddle races up and down the coast to help raise money and awareness for numerous causes.

David and Beth operated the town bus in Cambria delivering local seniors to the market and medical appointments. They also used the same bus to deliver meals to folks who found themselves shut-in at home. David was very active with Cal-Fire and County Fire as a rescue swimmer. This year David took on the mantle of President of the International Marathon Swimmers Hall of Fame, of which he was an inductee as well. David made friends around the world and on every continent except Antarctica. His mentorship in business, education, swimming, civics, charity and so many more have left a strong and vital legacy and set an example for those who chose to follow in his footsteps or maybe blaze a trail of their own.

David was a survivor of leukemia in the 80’s and a hypothermic heart-attack In the 70’s. His will to survive and thrive was matched only by his wish that others be enabled as well. It is in this spirit that Beth asks that in lieu of flowers, donations are gratefully appreciated and accepted at the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (http://www.imshof.org) and the City of Hope (http://www.cityofhope.org).

David was predeceased by his mother, Lois and leaves behind his wife, Beth; father Sandy (Dana); brother Bobby (Pam) and sister Sue (Marshall) as well as many nieces, nephews, greats, friends and close communities who miss him already.