Patti McGee, whose thrill-seeking activities as a teenager included surfing off the coast of San Diego and skateboarding on the city’s streets, and who ultimately became skating’s first female national champion, died on Oct. 16 at her home in Brea, Calif., in northern Orange County. She was 79.
Her daughter, Hailey Villa, also a skateboarder, said the cause was complications of a stroke.
“It’s like riding a surfboard on the sidewalk,” Ms. McGee told The Daily News of New York in 1965, when asked to explain the joy of skateboarding. “Or skiing down a slope without snow. It’s excitement. It’s kicks. It’s fun.”…