Alex would go.
Just like famed Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer Eddie Aikau who was associated with the phrase “Eddie would go,” 15-year-old Alex Wood was a bold protector of people in and out of the water.
On May 18, 2025, Alex finished training as a Santa Barbara County Lifeguard at Jalama Beach, and was certified and ready to spend the summer protecting people at Goleta Beach.
He was one of the youngest to complete the County Lifeguards program, but it was an achievement in line with the courageous way he lived his life. He was a surfer, skater, mountain biker, snowboarder, skier.
Alex’s young but accomplished life came to a sudden end when the car he was in crashed on Highway 1, killing him and his two friends, Michael Ochsner and Jake Curtis. All three were Dos Pueblos High School students.
Several hundred friends and family gathered at Goleta Beach on Saturday to remember Alex, in a celebration of life. The ceremony was held near Campus Point.
“Alex surfed there all the time,” said his mother, Louisa Wood, pointing to the area. “That’s why we are here, to look at the spot, because he’s actually surfing there right now.”
The ceremony was both sad and uplifting, with Alex’s family and friends sharing stories of his sense of humor, kindness and warm spirit.
“He was my heart, and our connection was profound,” Louisa Wood said. “And I know if you are here, he was your heart, too.”
The ceremony was held on the grass, with live music by “Alexander’s Jam Band,” Alex’s uncle, and a reading of Shakespeare. After several family members spoke, attendees walked to the ocean and tossed flowers into the water.
Speakers described Alex as warm, funny, goofy, and deeply kind. He cared about people in an authentic way.
His older brother, Owen Wood, said Alex was the glue that held the four brothers — Alex, Owen, Henry and Miles — together. He said he will miss his brother’s everyday wit, and how he showed compassion for people.
“He wouldn’t concern himself with disingenuous people,” Owen said. “If you somehow managed to earn my little brother’s respect, and that was difficult to do, that meant you were a genuine and kind person, because he wouldn’t accept anything less from anybody.”
Alex’s father, John Wood, spoke about his son’s kindness, intelligence and sense of humor. Their relationship was a close one.
John shared a story about a video he received from his son two days before he died. It was a video of himself pulling off a huge ollie on his skateboard.
He sent the video and underneath it he wrote, “Tough?”
John Wood responded “hellsyeah.”
Only it autocorrected to say “hello to the yeah.”
“For the next two days every positive or cool text I sent to Alex got the same reply,” John Wood said: “‘Hello to the yeah.'”
John also recalled how his son was the longest baby born in a New Hampshire hospital, and when the nurse first noticed she immediately told Louisa Wood to stop pushing and they called in the doctor.
“Alex came charging into the world, and he kept at it always,” John Wood said.
As a baby, Alex was always on the move.
“When Alex started crawling, he could not be stopped,” Wood said. “We couldn’t keep pants on the kid. He crawled right out of them. Every drawstring. Every button. Every Velcro clasp. Alex would go.”
Alex’s younger brother, Miles, said Alex taught him skateboarding.
“Alex was such an inclusive person,” Miles said. “I am and always will be in awe of who he was. I am so glad I spent those 12 years by his side.”
Younger brother Henry Wood told the crowd he was appreciative that his brother spent time with him and attended his baseball games.
“My brother Alex is a great person,” Henry said. “He followed his dreams. He was a great surfer, skater, snowboarder, skier, diver, brother.”
Louisa Wood spoke last at the end of the memorial service on Saturday.
“Today I asked to be the close of this ceremony, because I was the first to feel Alexander move in my body,” Louisa told the crowd at Goleta Beach.
“And I would like to be the last to speak as we release him into whatever comes next, a new world, a different universe, a place we can’t yet see, but somehow still feel.”
