John Gerald Driscoll IV
OBITUARY
Born at Mercy Hospital, John was the eldest of the seven children of Jean and Gerald Driscoll who raised their family on Point Loma. From an early age, his life was closely tied to the waterfront and the sailing community. John became a world class sailor, a yacht broker and 1998 Commodore of San Diego Yacht Club. He was a husband, a brother, a father, an uncle, a grandfather, a godfather and a friend of many.
John began racing overseas in his late teens: with Lowell North in the 1-Ton World Cup in Sardinia; many other races in the Med; for Ted Turner in the Southern Ocean Racing Circuit, and 50-foot boat Regattas on Champosa V in the US Virgin Islands, Northeastern US, Japan in 1989 and the Admiral’s Cup in England, 1991. He was skipper for SDYC that won the the Lipton Cup in 1999 and 2000.
His beloved boat was a Star, the oldest Olympic Class sailboat still in competition. He named it Theophilus (“friend of God” in Greek). John and crew Hugo Schreiner won many races on that boat, including the North American Star Regatta in 1982.
In 2008 he bought Chimaera, a 47′ sailboat designed by Olin Stephens and his father Gerald that he helped build at Driscoll Boatyard in 1967. He found it in Los Angeles in poor condition, brought it back to San Diego, repaired it and raced it in San Diego from then on.
John and Jan Shirley married in 1987. They loved to travel: England, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Japan, Cambodia, Angor Wat, down the Mekong River to South Vietnam, Cuba, the Galapagos, Machu Picchu, Croatia and others.
John will be remembered as much for the force of his personality and his many accomplishments. He had a quick wit and sense of humor, a generous spirit, fierce loyalty, a great gift for storytelling, and was an instinctive problem solver who rarely accepted an obstacle without first examining it from every angle. He had an insatiable curiosity, learned how things work and could be made better and helped many people decide how to solve problems.
The relationships he built with family, friends, colleagues and fellow sailors were enduring and deeply valued. He will be missed and fondly remembered by his family, Jan’s family, friends, fellow sailors and others whose lives he touched both on and off the water.
John is survived by his wife, Jan Shirley Driscoll; siblings Chuck, Tom, Mary Carol, and Michael; sisters-in-law, Laurie, Karen and Lynn; son Christopher; nieces and nephews, Cameron, Andrew, Jessica, Stephen, Jack and Kaitlin; and grandkids Chloe, Greyson and Latham.
A Celebration of John’s Life will be Friday August 21, 2026, 1 pm at San Diego Yacht Club.