Services Held for Jack Toon, 96, Balboa Resident and Avid Sailor

Memorial services were held Monday for Jack Toon, longtime resident of Balboa, who died of leukemia on Aug. 4. He was 96.

Born in Los Angeles, Toon had been a salesman who owned a music studio in Bakersfield. He was a sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War I, fighting in France. He was also one of the last surviving World War I veterans at American Legion Post 291 in Newport Beach.

During his youth, Toon’s family spent summers camping on Balboa Island; he moved there full time in 1945. An avid sailor, Toon was an active member of the Balboa Yacht Club until the mid-1970s.

Toon was a world traveler. His favorite spot was Tahiti, where friends called him “Full Moon Toon.” His most recent adventure was at age 90, when he toured the Far East and walked on the Great Wall of China.

Since 1980, Toon had been teaching a ukulele class at the Oasis, a senior citizen center in Corona del Mar. About 35 seniors took Toon’s class, and the group played at convalescent homes all around Orange County.

He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Dee; his daughter, Pat Harrison; his son, Tom; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.