A DAUGHTER REMEMBERS HER FATHER’S CREATIVE LEGACY
Written by Katherine Relf-Canas on Monday, May 9, 2016My father, Geoff Relf, a longtime San Diego advertising and communications figure passed away July 28, 2015, at 85, after battling cancer, surviving his wife, Connie by five years. The couple met at the University of Washington and moved to San Diego in 1956, then to La Jolla in 1959, where they raised four children: Terrie, Robin, Kirk, and Katherine.
He was born in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Henry Clark Relf, an international lumber broker and De Lonto May Kirk, who met at the University of Washington. He was fond of sharing stories of his precocious childhood endeavors and life growing up with his sister Carol on Puget Sound.
My dad was a man of many talents that served him well in a varied career. He attended Stanford as a pre-Med, and later studied at The Cartoonists and Illustrators School in New York City, now SVA, with Burne Hogarth and others. He entered the field of advertising and public relations after graduating from the University of Washington.
Known for his keen intellect, powerhouse creative mind, and sardonic wit, his communications career included several partnerships, including Barnes & Chase, and the PR firm Scripps & Relf. He later formed Relf Communications and Torrey Services.
His advertising campaigns left their mark on San Diego over the years, and his articles and illustrations appeared now and again in many publications. He served as the account executive for Sea World for many years, starting with its opening. Toward the end of his life, it seemed as though he may have sought to upend the stigma of this legacy through laboring over a series of publications that explored environment, ecology and marine life. They remained ‘unfinished,’ and, furthermore, stuck on the hard drive of an Apple computer.
My father learned to pilot seaplanes at a young age and loved to wax poetic about flight?—?both avian and aircraft. He served as a Naval Aviation Officer, which led to working in the aerospace field for General Dynamic Astronautics and General Atomic supervising advertising. This led to a moment he was proud to be a part of: crafting the announcements to the world that man had landed on the Moon.
He also handled creative campaigns at different times for the San Diego Opera, the Hotel Del Coronado, Tijuana’s Frontón Palacio Jai Alai and the Del Mar Racetrack.
A Scrabble aficionado, my father could be counted on for arcane knowledge of English language usage, which gave him a clear advantage. He loved science and was a closet botanist. He lived to learn and create and helped pass that on to four children and five grandchildren. He will be remembered as tenderhearted as well as a farce to be reckoned with for the strength of his convictions. I meant to say ‘force.’ I think you get the picture.
A DAUGHTER REMEMBERS HER FATHER’S CREATIVE LEGACY
Written by Katherine Relf-Canas on Monday, May 9, 2016My father, Geoff Relf, a longtime San Diego advertising and communications figure passed away July 28, 2015, at 85, after battling cancer, surviving his wife, Connie by five years. The couple met at the University of Washington and moved to San Diego in 1956, then to La Jolla in 1959, where they raised four children: Terrie, Robin, Kirk, and Katherine.
He was born in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Henry Clark Relf, an international lumber broker and De Lonto May Kirk, who met at the University of Washington. He was fond of sharing stories of his precocious childhood endeavors and life growing up with his sister Carol on Puget Sound.
My dad was a man of many talents that served him well in a varied career. He attended Stanford as a pre-Med, and later studied at The Cartoonists and Illustrators School in New York City, now SVA, with Burne Hogarth and others. He entered the field of advertising and public relations after graduating from the University of Washington.
Known for his keen intellect, powerhouse creative mind, and sardonic wit, his communications career included several partnerships, including Barnes & Chase, and the PR firm Scripps & Relf. He later formed Relf Communications and Torrey Services.
His advertising campaigns left their mark on San Diego over the years, and his articles and illustrations appeared now and again in many publications. He served as the account executive for Sea World for many years, starting with its opening. Toward the end of his life, it seemed as though he may have sought to upend the stigma of this legacy through laboring over a series of publications that explored environment, ecology and marine life. They remained ‘unfinished,’ and, furthermore, stuck on the hard drive of an Apple computer.
My father learned to pilot seaplanes at a young age and loved to wax poetic about flight?—?both avian and aircraft. He served as a Naval Aviation Officer, which led to working in the aerospace field for General Dynamic Astronautics and General Atomic supervising advertising. This led to a moment he was proud to be a part of: crafting the announcements to the world that man had landed on the Moon.
He also handled creative campaigns at different times for the San Diego Opera, the Hotel Del Coronado, Tijuana’s Frontón Palacio Jai Alai and the Del Mar Racetrack.
A Scrabble aficionado, my father could be counted on for arcane knowledge of English language usage, which gave him a clear advantage. He loved science and was a closet botanist. He lived to learn and create and helped pass that on to four children and five grandchildren. He will be remembered as tenderhearted as well as a farce to be reckoned with for the strength of his convictions. I meant to say ‘force.’ I think you get the picture.
Marriage Notes for Geoffrey Clark Relf and Constance Kay FREEMAN
Geoffrey Clark Relf and Constance Kay Freeman were also married November 26 1976
He was murdered.