Jul 26, 2008 11:07 pm US/Pacific
Funeral For Drowned Teacher Scheduled Sunday
Funeral For Joey Lutz, 25, Scheduled For Sunday
CULVER CITY
Funeral services will be held Sunday in Culver City for Joey Lutz, a teacher at Santa Monica High who drowned in Panama last week.
His remains arrived at Los Angeles International Airport early Saturday, accompanied by his father and brother.
Lutz, 25, was in Bocas del Toro on Panama's Mosquito Coast when he was knocked over by a big wave and swept away about noon July 17. He was seen struggling by his travel companions, who could not reach him. They reported getting little cooperation from locals in trying to mount a rescue.
His father, Stuart Lutz, and brother Mickey, flew to the area to recover the body. Moveable Minyan, a Jewish congregation where Joey Lutz was a member, enlisted a Santa Barbara-based business, Panama Surf, to aid in the search.
His body was found Sunday morning on Playa Wizard by a local fisherman not far from the spot where he was swept away three days earlier. Police took his father to the site to identify the body.
The body was turned over to Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary, where a memorial service and Jewish burial are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Movable Minyan is a lay-led congregation, and the family has requested that Rabbi Seth Rosen handle the funeral. Several hundred people are expected to attend the memorial and funeral as well as the traditional Jewish shiva mourning period, which will be at the family home in Culver City following the funeral.
Joey Lutz taught English at Santa Monica High School for the past three years. He was a respected participant in NewGround, a joint Muslim-Jewish dialogue co-founded by the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Progressive Jewish Alliance. NewGround held a candleight vigil in his honor Monday evening at Dockweiler State Beach.
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