Teacher dies in Panama

The body of a popular Santa Monica High School teacher washed ashore Sunday at a Panamanian beach, three days after a wave swept him away while he waded in shallow water, his mother said.

A fisherman found Joey Lutz at Playa Wizard, a beach town in the Bocas del Toro islands in northern Panama, where Lutz had been vacationing. The discovery ended the diminishing hopes of family and friends that he had survived Thursday’s freak accident.

Lutz, 25, had taught English for three years at Santa Monica High, where he was popular with students and faculty and was a regular participant in the school’s talent show, said Principal Hugo Pedroza. Lutz’s father, Stuart, identified the body Sunday in Panama.

“It’s very devastating news for the community and obviously for his family,” Pedroza said.

Lutz adored his friends, family and students and particularly enjoyed the outdoors and traveling the world, said his mother, Freda. He had traveled previously to New Zealand, Guam, India and Thailand.

“He lived life as if he knew he was going to die young, and he did it with passion,” his mother said. “He did so much, even though he lived a short life.”

In a posting on an Internet social networking site, Lutz described his interests as “backpacking, guitar and conversation.”

“Enthusiasm turns me on more than anything else. I try and live my life by exuding positive energy as much as possible,” Lutz wrote.

Lutz left California on June 30, traveling to Costa Rica before heading south to Panama, his mother said. He had completed three weeks of a four-week trip when he was caught off-guard by a large wave and carried out to sea, she said.

He graduated from Culver City High School in 2000 before earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UC Santa Cruz. At Santa Monica High School, Lutz often opened his classroom at lunchtime and ate with students, his mother said.

“He became a teacher because he loved young people,” his mother said. “He was like a kid himself.”

Pedroza described Lutz as “well-rounded and adventurous” and said he taught with a passion that helped him connect with students.

“There are teachers who can teach you the subject matter because they know it. He was much more than that. He felt a passion for what he was conveying to students,” Pedroza said. “It was not just the subject matter, it was about becoming a better prepared person for whatever challenges come your way.”

Pedroza said the school would provide grief counseling today.

Funeral arrangements have not been made.

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stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com