George Purifoy

[rawls]

George's funeral service was today and what a wonderful send off for him. Family and friends as well as all of those people who worked so hard and diligently with George through the years to make Olympus Diving the first class diving operation it has been and will continue to be, gathered to pay tribute to a great man. After the service there was a gathering at Olympus which was a service in and of itself...A service for a man who gave his utmost dedication of service to the dive community...to us...for so many years.

May you have fair winds and following seas George Purifoy...

 

[Tanked]

My thoughts, and prayers are with George's family, and fellow divers. He made every one of my trips to North Carolina an unforgettable experience. He will be missed.

 

[divenutny]

Very sad news. George is an outstanding person. He will be sorely missed. Always a smile, always approachable. Thanks to George, Morehead is a "Must See" place to dive. My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

 

[BUGBAGGER]

I've been struggling with what to post since I learned last night that George died. Simply enough I'll send my deepest sympathy to Bobby and the rest of George's friends and family, they are many. Though I I can't say I knew George well, I held George as one of the legends that inspired me to follow diving as my passion. My experiences in Moorehead with Olympus were some of the most exhilerating and grounding dives in my repetoire. George, Bobby, Linda, and in the years I was there, Brad, Don, Natalie and many others of the Olympus family taught me invaluable lessens and never ending curiosity. George you touched yesterday, today, and will forever be a part of tomorrow.

 

[Diversauras]

I am still reeling from the untimely and unexpected loss of my good friend George Purifoy of Olympus Diving in Morehead City. To most people George was a diver and explorer and there were thousands if not tens of thousands of divers that had met him on one of his dive boats. To me and perhaps those that knew him a bit he was a lot more.

As a human being he was unquestionably a good man. He routinely went out of his way to help others and even when others might not be aware of his watchful eye it was paying attention to them and their safety.

As a business owner he had insight into what the industry needed even if the industry was not yet aware of it, and for the day to day operation of his diving business he relied heavily on his son Robert Purifoy who was always his closest confidant and best friend.

George was not someone that would typically surface amongst the ranks of the technical specialists at DAN as he was neither doctor nor lawyer, though in the Sport Scuba Diving industry he was and is a driving force. What George gave us was more subtle than an article or manual or check list of how to do some part of the diving business, George led by example. He made the developmental mistakes associated with all advancements and demonstrated the results for all to see. And his results were tested daily, year after year, on Olympus’ dive boats in what is arguably one of diving’s toughest environments. Whether George invented something or just refined it did not seem to matter; he was looking for results and not recognition.

George had 7000 plus dives yet was never a victim of DCS, and in the 20 years that I knew him I cannot think of a single incident that happened to him while in the water. His knowledge of diving, both the physics and the equipment angles, was intuitive, and I dare say that dozens of divers are here today and still diving because of his uncanny ability to spot problems in advance.

George’s internal fire drove him to search out many of the wreck that are now dived along the North Carolina Coast. Where once there was no common knowledge of the bounty that lay on the sea floor there is now “World Class” wreck-diving. George didn’t invent diving or dive boats but he made them both accessible to many that would not have had the opportunity otherwise.

I’ll miss you old friend.

Greg

 

[kratzdiver]

George was awesome!! I have been on chartres with them for 4 or 5 years. it's was a sad day for Diving, and diving history... Maybe where he is now he can look down and see all of the wrecks he has been searching for.. RIP..

 

[kmitch]

We've added a guestbook to our site to help collect memories of George. Please take a moment and share your fond memories of George with the Olympus and Purifoy family.
Memories of George

Thanks,
The Staff and Crew of Olympus Dive Center