James S. Acevedo, Apr. 21, 1950-Dec. 6, 2010

[lv2dive]

I'm glad your reply bumped the thread, @nkw5, your post was a beautiful tribute to your friend, and I'm glad I got to read it.

 

[nkw5]

Thanks for reminding us... Too often we forget the truly important people: the ones who indelibly touch our lives.

Thank you COB. Your quick and sympathetic reply touched my heart. I have to beg to differ with you though, and please don't consider me rude. We may not think of them by name but the people who touched our lives are never forgotten. They have become the part of the fabric of our lives.

 

[nkw5]

@nkw5, thank you for sharing this! I've never met you or Jim, but your story is one I could have written. I lost one of my best friends and dive mentor 12 years ago. His name was Ray Jones. Jim sounds a lot like my friend. Ray was extremely outgoing, incredibly generous, and never missed a chance to help someone. After he died, I hung up my fins. It took me 10 years to come back to diving. I couldn't be happier to be back diving now and I certainly know Ray would have wanted that. I learned so much from him and still miss him very much.

Ryan T, thanks for sharing your story! I wanted to give up diving too, but I didn't because I knew Jim would not have wanted me to. Kudos to you for coming back to diving. I am sure Ray would've wanted that. Happy diving!

 

[nkw5]

Thank you, flyboy08 and lv2dive! Your comments made me smile.

 

[The Chairman]

They have become the part of the fabric of our lives.

Point taken. I feel inspired:

If it weren't for a kindness shown,

I would never know to be kind.​

If I had never witnessed hard work,

I would not be so industrious.​

Without being given the truth

I would still believe the lies​

Love I have been freely given

So by love I am defined!​

 

[nkw5]

Point taken. I feel inspired:

If it weren't for a kindness shown,

I would never know to be kind.​

If I had never witnessed hard work,

I would not be so industrious.​

Without being given the truth

I would still believe the lies​

Love I have been freely given

So by love I am defined!​

Well said! Now it's up to carry on the legacies of those who taught us.

 

[Sam Miller III]

I just read your post and all the other post that followed

Thank you for sharing such a great tribute to a fine gentleman.
After reading your post I had a suspicion I had known Jim in some capacity related to diving, but at this juncture in life I my memory may be a little dusty. Perhaps he attended the SLO UW S&R Dive Con and we met there?

I certainly and sincerely feel your pain..

On September, 22 three years ago I received an early morning telephone call from
Carol Merker who informed me that her husband of 59 years and my dive buddy of over 50 good, great adventuresome years, had passed just passed away-- On my birth day!

It was like losing a brother , we socialized, we vacationed and we dove together so many times and so many places. We had many diving adventures which will never ever be experienced again by divers

Like you I miss Ron Merker, I miss the long telephone conversations I miss the occasional visit - always reliving past adventure and planning new adventures which will never occur

Via Con Dios Amigos Ron and Jim

Sam Miller, 111

 

[nkw5]

Sam,

I doubt Jim was at the SLO event. As far as I know the only Southern CA diving he did was a few Channel Island dives.

Your story is more poignant than mine. Fifty years is a long time to have shared so much with one person who wasn't even your spouse and to have lost Ron on your birthday is indeed sad. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Saniflush]

Terribly sorry for your loss. Jim sounds like a really likable and friendly person/mentor. These type of people live on through they people that they touch.