Ocean Researcher Gifford C. Ewing Dies

Gifford Cochran Ewing, known as the “Father of Space Oceanography” by those in the field, died of natural causes Wednesday at his home in La Jolla. He was 82.

Ewing was born in Yonkers, N.Y., and received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University. After a stint in the Navy during World War II, he resumed his studies, earning a doctorate in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1950.

He continued to work for Scripps as a research oceanographer until 1966, serving as chairman of the Division of Oceanic Research from 1962 to 1964. He conducted the first major studies of the remote coastal areas of Baja California, and created the Auxiliary Coast Guard for the search and rescue of pilots.

Ewing nurtured the development of satellite and shuttle oceanography into what is now an integral part of oceanographic investigations, according to Scripps.

He moved to Woods Hole, Mass., in 1964. In an independent effort that year, he organized the first conference on oceanography from space, held in Woods Hole.

He stayed in Woods Hole for the next 14 years, serving as an associate physical oceanographer and senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution until his retirement in 1974. During that time he also served as chairman of the NASA Apollo Experimental Support Team and was a member of the NASA Ad Hoc Spacecraft Advisory Group. He returned to La Jolla in 1978.

Ewing was also a fellow in the California Academy of Science and belonged to a number of oceanography organizations. He wrote or contributed to 20 publications and received numerous awards.

In addition, he was president, director and major owner of the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla from 1948 to 1980. He also served on the San Diego Natural History Museum Board of Directors and was a member of the Exhibit Committee of the San Diego Zoo and of the UC San Diego Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Humanities and Social Sciences.

He is survived by his wife, Winifred, of La Jolla; four daughters: Alexandra Whitney of New York City, Frances Rockwell of Pine Plains, N.Y., Jane of Santa Barbara, and Eva of La Jolla; two stepsons: Benton Jamison of Albany, N.Y., and Laurence Ely of Amherst, Mass.; and two stepdaughters, Deborah Singer of Boxborough, Mass., and Sabra, of Vershire, Vt.

Memorial services will be held at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in January.