LIVE OAK — The Santa Cruz County Coroner’s Office is investigating the cause of death for a 54-year-old San Jose man who died while surfing Saturday in Pleasure Point.

Richard Herrin was celebrating graduating with a degree in engineering from San Jose State on Thursday, after eight years of study, said his wife, Rita Herrin. He was declared dead on a beach at the foot of 37th Avenue, at East Cliff Drive, after emergency responders were unable to resuscitate him, according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Sgt. Brian Cleveland.

“He was one of the highest he could ever be, at that point, with school. I’ve never seen a smile so big, on graduation day,” Rita Herrin said of her partner. “He texted everybody that he was going to go surfing. He was so excited. And I’m sure he’s still excited.”

The couple had ties to the Santa Cruz area through family members living in the area. In the mid-2000s, they sold clothing items such as board shorts locally through their former California Surf Designs company — including a one-time contract with the junior lifeguards, Rita Herrin said.

Rita Herrin, describing her husband as “a fish, a Pisces” who loved and respected the ocean and went to yoga every other day, said it had been a while since Richard Herrin had last gone surfing. The couple, both furthering their education as “older” adults, were “go, go, go, studying all the time,” she said. After passing the milestone of graduation, Richard Herrin finally was able to grab a new neighbor for a trip down to Santa Cruz on “a gorgeous day, I heard, the best.”

“Saturday was going to be the first day, when he got home, that we would just be able to kick back and just kind of look at each other,” Rita Herrin said. “We decided that Tuesday we would regroup.”

Next on Richard Herrin’s to-do list was beginning the job search, new degree in hand, his wife said.

Herrin’s cause of death remained undetermined Tuesday, pending autopsy or medical examination, Cleveland said.

Rita Herrin said she has been left to piece together bits of knowledge from her neighbor and firefighters about what happened, saying it could be a while before the full story comes out.

Services for Richard Herrin will likely take place in San Jose with his four stepchildren Joey, Michael, PJ and Carley Bunnell, but Rita Herrin said a paddle-out in her husband’s honor may be scheduled for the Santa Cruz area, as well.