Surf community legend dies

The Northeast Florida surf community has lost a legend. Holly Rubin Sills, 64, passed away Feb. 25 at her home in Vero Beach following a lengthy battle against cancer not long after completing her autobiography, “Breaking Through,” detailing her time making waves as the region’s first female championship surfer.
“One of her biggest goals was to finish her book. With unwavering determination, she completed her book 'Breaking Through' just a few weeks ago. It will be printed and available for all who want to learn more about her extraordinary life,” according to a statement released by her husband, Gary Sills, and son, Monte Ritz.
A memorial paddle-out is planned for 11 a.m. Sunday, April 5, followed by a public celebration of her life at noon at Surfer [The Bar] in Jacksonville Beach. Services will also be held in Vero Beach.
Growing up on the East Coast, Holly Rubin Sills was a pioneer in the '60s for female surfers. She competed in contests at a time when there were no female divisions where she held her own against the boys.
“My first contest, I believe, was an ESA contest. And the night before, I taped on a cassette tape exactly how I was going to ride the waves. In my mind, I would say OK, you’ve got to get in the right position. You’ve got to paddle depending on where the wave was breaking at to get into that position and you have to ride it a certain way without being distracted,” said Rubin Sills in a 2018 video produced by Mitch Kaufmann. “I was mainly surfing against boys on the competitive side. And it was fun because I was just like a tomboy back then and it really didn’t bother me. I don’t know how they felt about it.”
Terry DeLoach grew up just two blocks away at the south end of Jacksonville Beach. He remembers knocking on her window in the morning when the waves were firing.
“Holly was just one of the guys. She grew up here and went to Fletcher. She was one of the first girl surfers in the area when there were virtually none. She rode a short board and went out there and charged it just like a guy,” he said.
According to Kaufmann, Rubin Sills went on to organize and run local contests just to promote surfing and raise the level of performance in the region.
"When I was 16 years old, I believe that’s when I had probably my biggest success in winning contests and being recognized since there weren’t very many women out there at the time,” she said.
In 2018, Rubin Sills was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North Florida Surfing Association, along with Winnie Strickland and Clay Bennett.
Becoming a young mother forced Rubin Sills to put her surfing career on hold to raise her son, Monte  Ritz,  and  carve out   a successful career in business.   She graduated from the University of Virginia's Finance & Banking Program and worked as a senior vice president for Citibank.
After being diagnosed 20 years ago with Multiple Sclerosis, Rubin Sills retired from JM Family Enterprises and launched a successful career as a realtor, most recently with Billero & Billero of Vero Beach. Her own health challenges inspired her philanthropist spirit. She cofounded Deliver the Dream, a nonprofit that helps families with serious illnesses. Rubin Sills “spent her life giving to others,” said her family.
Rubin Sills was lauded as a pioneer for women in the sport of surfing, and her accomplishments are enshrined in surfing museums and surfing Halls of Fame in Jacksonville Beach and Cocoa Beach. She was among the local women featured in the 2012 “Mermaids of the First Coast” exhibit at the Beaches Museum.
When looking back at her extraordinary life, friends remembered Rubin Sills as a devoted mother who was proud of her legacy in surfing and her success in the corporate world.
According to DeLoach, she considered naming her book “Girl on a Board” as a nod to her early days on the water and her later achievements in business.
“It’s an autobiography about growing up surfing and taking those skills into business and how you can use many things that you’ve learned from a sport like surfing or surfing itself to actually succeed even further in life,” said Rubin Sills. “I’m very happy and blessed that it is part of my life and all the people that were part of it will always be in my life forever.”