Chris Duddy, a longtime educator and principal at El Morro Elementary School in Laguna Beach, died suddenly on Tuesday, May 24, Laguna Beach Unified district officials announced. He was 57.
“We are deeply saddened to inform you that our beloved principal, Mr. Chris Duddy, passed away last night in his sleep. Mr. Duddy has been an incredible partner and leader in our El Morro family and Laguna Beach Unified School District,” Superintendent Jason Viloria said in a statement sent out to the district community on Wednesday. “This is incredibly shocking news to share, and we are all working diligently to support our El Morro teachers, staff and students. We also share our deepest sorrows and sympathy with Mr. Duddy’s wife, children and family.”
Duddy, who was set to retire, joined the district in 1998 when he was hired as Thurston Middle School’s assistant principal; he later became the school’s principal. In 2004, he transferred to helm El Morro, and had been there ever since.
Previously, Duddy was a guidance specialist at Brea Junior High and an English teacher and basketball coach at Brea Olinda High.
As news of Duddy’s death spread among the El Morro community Wednesday, many who knew him spoke of his impact on their lives and the community.
Among them was Chris Tebbutt, whose two sons attended El Morro and are now at Thurston.
“Chris Duddy was more than our principal,” said Tebbutt, who also, with Duddy’s help, started the El Morro PTA Diversity Committee that is now a district-wide program. “He was our dear friend.”
Tebbutt said what stood out to him the most about Duddy was “his willingness to learn and understand what he didn’t know.”
“He embodied the growth mindset that is a core value of the school community he led,” Tebbutt said. “And when my son was struggling on Zoom during the pandemic, Mr. Duddy would call him almost every day to make sure he was doing OK.”
Julie Warnsdorfer, El Morro PTA president, called Duddy “the best role model and leader possible for our children and community.”
“From the bottom of our broken little hearts at El Morro, we would like to say thank you,” she said. “Mr. Duddy truly cared so much for his staff and students and always put them first.
“I think he will be most missed at morning drop-off and pick-up, where he opened and closed doors to greet and say goodbye to all 400-plus students by name daily,” she said. “We are fortunate to have had 18 years with him, and the memories will be cherished and last forever.”
Michele Martinez, a teacher at Thurston Middle School, still recalls when Duddy hired her in 2003. Among her fondest moments, she said, is from that interview.
“I drove up the long hill to Thurston and in the interview told him I had no idea teachers worked in paradise,” she said, adding she had just moved to California from Texas. “He said, ‘Welcome to the family.’”
She described him as warm and caring and “impacting everyone he knew.”
Her daughter, Noelle, was recently hired by Duddy as an instructional aide at El Morro.
“He was just so devoted to his staff,” she said. “He made everyone at El Morro feels like a family and a home. He knew a way to make everyone laugh.”
Laguna Beach Sgt. Cornelius Ashton, who worked as a school resource officer at Laguna Beach High School, also remembered Duddy fondly.
“He was a very compassionate man and always spoke about our youth’s importance to the future,” Ashton said. “He always said he was carrying out a purpose.”
Ashton remembered Duddy telling him: “Every time I wake up in the morning, I’m living a life for a cause.”
Ashton said his “heart hurts, but I know he served his assignment on earth and left his legacy behind.
“Everyone in Laguna Beach has a piece of Chris Duddy with them.”
An open house scheduled for Wednesday night was canceled, but a vigil started at 5:30 p.m. at Laguna Beach High School’s Guyer Field.