Submitted by the family
March 4, 1939 – February 3, 2026
Harold Edward Friddle, known as “Hal,” passed away peacefully at home on February 3, 2026, surrounded by family. A true son of Coronado, Hal was born at Coronado Hospital, where his mother Zillah worked as a Registered Nurse. His father, Harold Friddle Sr., served as a Lt. Colonel in the National Guard, and Captain during World War II before returning home to become Coronado’s Postmaster. Coronado made Hal, and Hal — in no small way — made Coronado.
Hal was a wild and spirited young man who became legendary for throwing some of the biggest and best parties. One of those parties changed family history forever, when his younger sister Jan met her future husband, Brad Holcombe. While their parents escaped to the desert in their trailer for weekend adventures, Hal was left in charge — an arrangement that reliably led to stories that lived on for decades.
As a boy, Hal played the accordion and raised homing pigeons, developing a lifelong love of animals. Later in life, he would always have a dog by his side and often a cat or two adopted from someone who needed help. Over the years, he and his wife Anne shared their lives with Sara, Chelsea, Sparky, Chloe, and most recently he adopted Bella, who became a familiar sight as Hal walked her around the island or zipped past neighbors on his scooter — often managing to leave his good-natured caretakers in the dust.
Hal loved cars. In high school he would service and repair cars and trucks on the Island in the family alley. Eventually he had his own cars (never just one, and he was always working on them!). More recently, Hal could be seen cruising around the Island in his green ‘37 Buick, showing it off at the annual car show and meeting up with the classic car club in Coronado on Saturday mornings. Hal loved Mexico and spent many happy weeks camping and trekking through Baja California with family and friends. For years, he and a group of regulars ran pit stops at the Baja 500 and 1000 off-road races. They slept under the stars and fueled the nonstop stream of vehicles charging through the night. For his 85th birthday, friends and family gathered in bright orange SCORE race shirts to relive the adventures, including tales of his 1979 Chevy truck “Big Blue,” the Beast of Baja.
Until recently, Hal was still helping friends and family with maintenance, having spent over 25 years working as an independent contractor. He also worked for many years at the Coronado Shores alongside his lifelong friend, Ken Shortt, who was a building manager. The two were born just two days apart in the same hospital, and their mothers were best friends as well — a bond that carried on through a lifetime of friendship. Hal remodeled patios and kitchens at the Shores and devised the first use of automatic hallway lights. He also had a business running the satellite TV system. Through his work, Hal became known for his resourcefulness and his knack for collecting the unexpected. Asked to clear out storage units, he returned home with treasures that became part of the family landscape: ceramic lions, a golfing statue, and a large wooden horse, just to name a few. Hal delighted in beachcombing — golf balls, old flippers, goggles — anything might appear on your porch after one of his walks. He had an eye for possibility and a joy in the overlooked.
Hal married the love of his life, Anne — their meeting, naturally, had something to do with a used car — and together they built a house on F Ave on land that had been in the Friddle family for decades. They raised their daughter Megan there, with Hal spending seven seasons as her youth soccer coach and Anne becoming instrumental in founding the Coronado School of the Arts. Megan was part of its very first year, something the whole family held with quiet pride. Anne passed away from ALS in 2016, leaving a loss that Hal carried with him always. In the years that followed, Megan returned regularly to Coronado to be with him, and he made his way to Atlanta to see her perform, proud of the educator and artist she has become.
Hal was also devoted to his nieces and their families — his sister Jan’s girls Cyndi, Dianna, and Sherilyn, and his niece Darcy, who spent every summer with Anne and Hal. He’d roust the girls for late-night grunion runs and race them around the bayside beach in his old army jeep (“Uncle Hal, go faster!” — he always did). Cyndi eventually moved to Coronado partly to be close to them, and her daughters Kaia and Teagan became part of the family rhythm of birthdays and holidays. Hal mentored Cyndi’s husband Niels as a contractor, and Niels later helped care for Hal in his final years. In later years he found warm companionship with Paige, Anne’s sister and Darcy’s mother. This past Christmas, Darcy and Paige gathered all the nieces at his house, complete with Christmas crackers, paper crowns, and the kind of jokes Hal always loved best.
Hal was ready when the time came — ready to set off on whatever adventures lay ahead. He leaves behind a legacy of rule bending, laughter, “leapin’ lizard” humor, generosity, and stories that will be told as long as Coronado remembers its own.
He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the John D. Spreckels Center (1019 7th Street, Coronado) on the afternoon of March 29. Please visit tinyurl.com/CelebrateHal to RSVP.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Hal’s memory to PAWS of Coronado or Emerald Keepers.
