Friends to honor bodyboarder’s life

Just a night before he died while bodyboarding at 34th Street Beach, a quiet Gregory Brennan did something unusual: The normally soft-spoken Newport Beach man opened up and had a good long talk with many friends on his street.

“We had one of those very powerful conversations that you only have a few times in your life,” Brennan’s friend Peter Mundth said Monday after authorities confirmed that Brennan died from a cardiovascular disease while bodyboarding Sunday.

“It’s unbelievable to think he’s gone now,” Mundth said.

The 41-year-old man bonded with his friends and neighbors during their get-together on their block Saturday night.

“Greg really opened up and bonded with everyone, with everybody on our street on Saturday night,” Mundth said.

Despite being soft-spoken, Brennan had been instrumental in bringing the block together, Mundth said.

“Over the past few months, our one block of this street has opened up, and we’ve become a really tight-knit community. Greg was a huge part of that, without being overpowering or loud or obnoxious. He was a powerful presence with his kindness.”

Brennan was admitted to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian at 3:48 p.m. Sunday and was pronounced dead at 4:08 p.m., according to the Orange County coroner’s office.

Brennan was bodyboarding with his friends on Sunday when he suffered complications from a cardiovascular disease, according to Kelly Crawford of the coroner’s office.

Brennan’s friends, with help from a flagged-down lifeguard, dragged his unconscious body from the water, Newport Beach Fire Department officials said.

To honor Brennan, Mundth and other close friends have planned a unique memorial service. Mundth said they plan to paddle out into the waves on surfboards, form a ring and release real Hawaiian flower leis into the water.