Coroner Confirms Identity of Longtime Harbor Resident Found Dead in the Water in Santa Barbara

On July 12, the body of a man was reported floating near the Santa Barbara Harbor near midday. Authorities responded to the scene, pulled the man from the water near the boat launch ramp, and attempted CPR, but they were unable to resuscitate the man, and he was declared dead at the scene.

Later in the evening, the Santa Barbara Police Department confirmed that the decedent was a local who lived aboard a boat at the harbor. One week later, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick has confirmed via Twitter that the Coroner’s Bureau identified the victim as longtime Santa Barbara resident Dr. Bill Proctor.

Proctor, 79, lived in Santa Barbara ever since he moved from Los Angeles to attend UC Santa Barbara in the early ‘60s. At UCSB, he was the captain of the football team as a freshman and earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in electrical and computer engineering. After earning his PhD in 1979, he joined the faculty as a lecturer in Transistor Theory, Theory of Computation, and Basic Electronics in the 1980s.

In addition to his passion for computer engineering, Proctor was a longtime professional illustrator and artist whose work spanned more than six decades. His professional work included illustrating for Exe Magazine in London, Gold’s Gym in Santa Barbara, and the children’s menu of the now-closed Elephant Bar restaurant in town. Four years ago, Proctor published two books merging his passions for engineering and illustration, titled Semiconductor Theory Illustrated and Electromagnetic Fields. 

On his blog, where he detailed his maritime adventures on his 35-foot sailboat, the S/V Savannah, he described himself as an experienced sailor who traveled around the world, served as a merchant marine, and was a first mate on a trip from Santa Barbara to Puerto Vallarta and back.

“I’ve sailed S/V Savannah over 15,000 miles, mainly in local waters around Santa Barbara, compiling eight sailing logbooks and a lifetime of fun and adventure between San Diego and San Miguel Island,” Proctor wrote on the blog in 2014.

In 2005, Proctor married his wife, Jill Richards Proctor, an acclaimed children’s author, photographer, and member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. 

Neighbors described Proctor as an artist, man of science, and “lover of the sky and the sea” who was a fixture on the harbor, where he often played music and told stories. He was also known for his sailor look — complete with an eye patch — which he wore ever since losing his right eye as a child.

The official cause of death “appears accidental,” Zick said, though the death is still under under investigation.

“Occasionally, God intervenes in human endeavors so as to divide the path taken from the path intended.” —Dr. Bill Proctor via his blog, Main Sheet, in August 2014