Frayne Gaylord Higgason

Frayne Gaylord Higgason as the name might infer was a man for all seasons. He was born to Jay and Viola Higgason on March 23, 1934 in Los Angeles. As an only child, he was much loved and spoiled by his hard working parents. Frayne worked hard too, albeit in the pursuit of fun and pleasure He was early into surfing in the 50’s when long wooden boards were the rigor. Franey, as his friends called him, rose to the level of a champion among his fellow surfers at Malibu Beach and is known in surfing circles as one of the best ever. Frayne liked to remember those carefree days at the beach as “ I was there when Gidget was there”. Wishing to be close to the beach all the time, he and his mother hand built a house on the bluff at Pt. Dune in the late ’50’s. Thus, surfing became just a slide down the hill into the waves for Frayne.

Moving to Santa Barbara in the sixties after serving his stint in the military, where he served with Elvis at Ft. Hood, Frayne continued to surf and fish for the big ones in the summer and ski at Mammoth mountain in the winter.

Frayne was a friendly sort of guy. Easy to meet and easy to know. And if you knew him you would remember him as a little bit different, just something different about Frayne. He truly loved people and would go out of his way to befriend any and all who came his way. And he never let go of his friends. If he was in the neighborhood, he would look you up and you were always glad to see him. He continued to surf and ski well into his ’70’s.

Frayne never had a job. He didn’t seem to need one. He never had a wife. Never seemed to need one. Girlfriends he had in the dozens and he loved them all. He was a bachelor with style. He glided through life like a bird on the wing. Landing here and there to make someone glad to have known him.

Champions are known by the record they leave. Frayne was a champion measured by the friends that he leaves. He will be hard to forget. He left us April 13, 2016.

There will be a celebration of Frayne’s life at the Channel Islands Yacht Club, 4100 S. Harbor Blvd., Oxnard from 3-6pm May 10, 2016.