A memorial fund has been set up to honor local fisherman and diver Kristopher Evens “K.C.” Carlsen, a 27-year-old Santa Barbara resident who died Dec. 4 while lobster diving north of Fraser Point off Santa Cruz Island.

The K.C. Carlsen Scholarship Fund has been established to provide deserving youths the chance to play basketball at the Page Youth Center, 4540 Hollister Ave.

“I think K.C. would be real pleased (with the fund), with his fishing pole and basketball smiling down on everybody,” said Bob Yost, executive director of the Page Youth Center.

Aside from fishing and diving, Carlsen made it a priority to help at the center as a youth basketball coach and referee. He spent his childhood fostering a love for basketball and continued to offer his time to the PYC throughout his life.

Allen Pugh, chief executive officer of GSolutionz Inc., and some of Carlsen’s friends would shoot around every Saturday at the center. Pugh and his friends started the fund to help youths learn and enjoy one of his life interests, Pugh said.

“K.C. played ball here and spent a lot of time with kids and loved it. He grew up here, he loved the Page Youth Center,” Yost said. “He would be very pleased the guys are doing this in his name. Half of these guys were just guys he shot hoops with. They thought highly enough of him to put some money into this and keep his name around.”

Carlsen was lobster diving with his father, Dave, and a friend when he submerged about 9 a.m. Dec. 4 and his equipment malfunctioned, and he never resurfaced, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Drew Sugars.

“I think the fund is commendable to the kind of guy K.C. was,” Yost said. “There was quite a diverse crowd at memorial who all said he was an unselfish man, aggressive on the court, but also cared about the community, kids and his friends.”

Wana Dowell, PYC development director, said she treated Carlsen as one of her own.

“We felt like he was our kid who grew up here and went on to succeed,” she said. “If anyone set an example for other kids, it was K.C. He was the kindest person, (he was) so sweet, everything nice you would want in a young man.”

Contributions can be sent to Page Youth Center,  P.O. Box 6766, Santa Barbara, CA 93160.

— Noozhawk staff writer Alex Kacik can be reached at akacik@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk or @NoozhawkNews. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.