Kendall Boyd Grant (“Boyd”)

Kendall Boyd Grant (“Boyd”) December 3, 1943 – November 9, 2018 was born in Santa Barbara to Kathleen Boyd Grant and Nelson Kendall Grant. Boyd graduated from San Marcos High School and U.C. Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Religious Studies. Boyd was a true child of the 60s exploring first the Civil Rights Movement and later the Free Speech and Anti-War Movements. He attended the Joan Baez Institute of Non-Violence and read Thoreau and Gandhi, practiced meditation and followed the teachings of Buddha. Boyd was a gentle, generous, peaceful soul who was happy living and traveling alone, playing his guitar and whose primary love was pier fishing. Over the years, Boyd held many jobs and retired after 20 years of service for Verizon, formerly GTE. After his retirement, Boyd bought an RV and traveled throughout the Western U.S collecting photos and adventures which he recorded in a series of photo essays. After a year or so on the road, Boyd settled down in Goleta to devote his time and energy to the activity he loved most – pier fishing.  At this point, Boyd found the site pierfishing.com which, in his words, was “like coming home.” It was on this site that he became known as “Pierhead.”

Wanting to stay in the pier environment and be with his friends, Boyd decided that cleaning the pier every morning, before sunup when he had it all to himself, was a way to stay connected and to enjoy nature. In his desire to improve life on the pier for fishermen while preserving nature, Boyd co-founded an organization known as United Pier and Shore Anglers of California (UPSAC), a non-profit educational organization that supported the interests of shore and pier anglers and operated out of a small building on Goleta Pier with the goal of exploring and developing a guideline of best conservation practices. Boyd became the caretaker and host at Goleta Pier until 2011 when the County ended the program. He referred to his time on the pier as some of the happiest years of his life.

Boyd returned to his quiet life in Lompoc where he lived until he met his soul mate, Elaine, after which he referred to himself as “the old fisherman with the catch of his life.” Boyd was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Jerry. He is survived by his wife, Elaine, his sister Kathleen, brother David (Nadine), his son, Joshua (Kimberly), three granddaughters, many nieces and nephews and countless others whose lives he touched. Throughout his life, Boyd cared for those in need and in Tibetan Buddhism lived the life of a Bodhisattva. A private celebration of Boyd’s life was held on Goleta Pier on January 26, 2019. In lieu of flowers, Boyd requested that his friends and family make donations to the homeless shelter of their choice. Namaste loving soul.