Guy Dyer McGonagill; Santa Monica’s Sultan of the Sand

Guy Dyer McGonagill, 71, a fixture on the Santa Monica beach. Born, raised and educated within sight of the sand, McGonagill was a wrestler at Santa Monica High School and quickly became a lifeguard. He served with the Marines in World War II and the Korean War, and earned a teaching degree at Cal State Northridge but never used it. Instead, he preferred to earn his living watching the sea--as a lifeguard, a police officer, a mailman and, for most of his life, as a member of the Santa Monica Harbor Patrol. A noted raconteur with all ages, McGonagill held forth on his life experiences and offered advice at Chez Jay’s. Most important, he told The Times in 1990 and anybody else who would listen: “Don’t turn your back to the sea; always watch the water. You learn to live with the ocean; it doesn’t learn to live with you.” On April 30 in Santa Monica of emphysema and pulmonary complications.