On June 24, 2020, a car accident took the life of Jack Munday. In his honor, a memorial was created at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. The memorial is a way to commemorate his life, and the painting of the waves represents his passion for surfing and for the water.

Munday could frequently be seen trying out many different extreme sports and he spent most of his time in the water, following his passion for surfing. Senior Riley Murphy knew Munday as one of his closest friends.

“Munday has been one of the most kind, enthusiastic and happiest people,” Murphy said. “I have never met someone in my entire life like Jack. He used to be someone passionate about surfing and spent most of his time in the water.”

The week Munday died, his family, friends and the Carlsbad community came together to pay homage to him at Tamarack State Beach. They used a picture frame and many candles to celebrate him in his favorite spot. Munday’s surfer partner Noah Warwick was pleased with how many people came to the ceremony.

“Coming to celebrate Munday’s life by raising a thousand candles in solidarity with the grieving family and to also show support, importance and respect to all those people that were there but specifically his family,” Warwick said.

Despite controversy over the permanence of the memorial, it will remain permanent, continuing to commemorate his life. Murphy hopes that the memorial will be a way for others to connect with Munday.

“He was someone that would make anyone smile,” Murphy said. “… I hope everyone can have a little piece of him and the memorial could give new people [a way] to know about him and [how] one person’s life can affect a whole city and an amount of people that did not know Jack, but could possibly get connected with him somehow.”

The Munday memorial will serve as an important representation of the life of Jack Munday. It brought a community together to make something memorable, honored and special for the members of the Munday family.

“Somehow we did it,” Warwick said. “Munday memorial bench had to be larger than his life, the drawing of the wave represents the perpetual motion of his life and a pure expression of love of his familiars.”