Wave Dancer Passengers





Doug & Phyllis Cox

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer


Doug was a farrier in Richmond, a dive instructor at The Dive Shop, amateur underwater videographer, race boat enthusiast and past officer in the Capital Dragboat Club. Phyllis was an employee of Markel Corp. and worked in the accounting department, an avid gardener with a passion for flower arranging, accomplished seamstress, dedicated fund-raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and former officer of the Capital Dragboat Club.

Doug starting diving as a teen-ager and rediscovered the sport in 1999 when he and his son Bobby took lessons. In 1-1/2 years, Doug became a dive master and an instructor, and logged more than 250 dives. Phyllis was certified soon afterward.

The Coxes were native Richmonders and married for 36 years. They are survived by one son; their eldest son died of leukemia in 1995.






Jim & Kimberly Garrison

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer


Jim and his wife, Kim were the owners of James Limousine in Richmond, Virginia and were very active in the Richmond Dive Club. Their house was the locale for many of the Club's social events, and Jim unhesitatingly provided limos for most of the club outings.

Jim was an avid underwater photographer. He was nicknamed "Gadget Man," and his love for acquiring the latest scuba technology was legendary. More often than not, his purchases ended up going over the side of whatever dive boat he was on. Jim always laughed as hard about it as his dive buddies.

 The couple were known for their kind and generous spirits: when they learned of a Club member's father who was stranded in New York after 9/11 they offered to personally drive one of their limos up to the City to collect him. They are survived by two sons.





Dr. Byron E. Johnston and
Mrs. Shirley A. Johnston

Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer


Byron, 60, was an advanced open water diver, and a former Smoke Jumper from Montana. Professionally, he developed and marketed industrial chemicals to pharmaceutical companies. Shirley, 58, was a seasoned swimmer and diver, a painter who was also interested in underwater photography.


Byron and Shirley fell in love after meeting in high school in Missoula, Montana and were married immediately after Byron's graduation from MIT. After Byron finished graduate school at Berkeley, the family moved to New Jersey where their two children, Blaine and Heather, were born. In 1986, Shirley and Byron moved to the community of Brandermill, near Richmond, Virginia. Byron celebrated his retirement from Ethyl Corporation in May 2001. This was their first liveaboard dive trip.





Bill & Sheila Kelley

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer


Dr. Kelley, a native of Wisconsin, was a U.S. Army veteran. Dr. Kelley, had a PHD in Secondary Education from the University of Arizona and was a former Deputy Director of the U.S. Army Armor School, Fort Knox, Ky and Director of Instruction at the U.S. Army Quartermaster School, Fort Lee, Va. He was the President of the Federal Executive Council, and an active member of the University of Arizona Alumni Association and the Richmond Dive Club.

Mrs. Kelley, a native of Arizona, had operated her own law practice and acted as Judge Protem for the City of Colonial Heights for several years as well as having served as a local Public Defender. She was a Phi Theta Kappa graduate of Eastern Kentucky University in 1987, and a 1990 graduate of the Salmon P. Chase College of Law. While at Law School she achieved a myriad of honors and achievements, among which were multiple Dean's List standings, Editor of the Law Review, listing in the 9th edition of Who's Who in American Law Schools, and membership in the American Trial Lawyer's Association. She was also deeply involved in the Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond Dive Club.

The Kelleys were active members of the Lutheran Church of Our Savior of Richmond. They are survived by their children and grandchildren.






Cheryl Lightbound

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer


Cheryl was born in Calgary, August 22, 1963. She attended Lord Beaverbrook High School, Mount Royal College and the University of Victoria, where she earned a degree in Computer Science. Cheryl had been employed with Dominion Virginia Power in Richmond, Virginia since November 1997.

Cheryl travelled the world to see and experience all that it had to offer, especially when it involved water and photography. Her last major trip spanned six months, seventeen countries and four continents, seeing everything from the Pyramids, Victoria Falls, rafting down the Zambezi, going on safaris in Kenya, scuba diving with marine life in the South Pacific, Australia, tasting chocolate in Tasmania, and visiting her brother in Hong Kong. She then returned to Richmond to spend some time with her friends from work kayaking on the James River. She had recently gone with a friend to see Niagara Falls in her own country. While there, she quoted her motto for life:
"Don't wait to do what you want because any day it could be over."







Raymond Mars

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer.


Ray, 52, worked for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for 29 years. He met members of the RDC one year prior to the Belize trip, on the Turks & Caicos Sea Dancer. The Marses were the only two non-members of the dive club on the boat.  In Teresa Mars' words "From the minute we met them, we were welcomed as if we had been part of the club forever, and never felt like we did not belong. I specifically remember Jim Garrison saying one day that they were lucky too, that they had found another good guy to dive with. It was the easiest group to be with."  When Ray heard about the RDC trip to Belize he could not wait to go, and had dive equipment spread all over the family room floor for at least a week before he was due to leave. The Marses, from the Baltimore, Maryland area, had been married 33 years and have one son, Raymond Jr.









Christy McNeil

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer


 Christy was Manager of Engineering Services for ONDEO Degremont. She was also the Travel Coordinator for the Richmond Dive Club. Christy's enthusiasm for diving and support of the RDC were inspirational. Noone could be around her for long without smiling. She had the most infectious laugh you've ever heard. She was generous and thoughtful, and known for the brownies she baked to take along on every RDC trip to Hatteras. After the accident, Christy's body was cremated in Belize, and her ashes were scattered over Lighthouse Reef, Belize, the site of her last dive on Sunday, October 7th.







Charlie & Cindy Pike

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer


Charlie, 52, was a partner and vice president of special projects for J.K. Timmons and Associates, a member of the Hokie Alumni Association, and a member of the Richmond Dive Club. He held both a bachelors and Masters degrees in Civil Engineering.  Cynthia, 44, attended Bluefield College. She was an employee of Guest Relations at Chesterfield Town Center, and was also a member of the Richmond Dive Club. They were both active members of Bon Air Baptist Church, where Cynthia was a member of the TLC Class. They were advocates of foster care, child adoptions and abused children. They would have been married for 19 years in November. Cindy and Charlie both became certified in 1997, continuing to make it a family affair by encouraging their sons to become certified divers. They are survived by their two sons and a daughter.






Lisa Powell

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer


Lisa was the manager of the Toymaker of Williamsburg in Shockoe Slip, a hostess at Buckhead's Restaurant and a member of the Richmond Dive Club. She was a 1988 graduate of Monacan High School and a 1992 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University.







Glenn Prillaman

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer


Glenn was a realtor, aviator, disc jockey, professional clown, train enthusiast, and the founding member and President of the Richmond Dive Club. He lived in the Greenfield subdivision of Chesterfield County where, he built the "Garage Mahal," complete with crown molding, air conditioning and ceiling fans. He also spent a lot of time maintaining a G-gauge model railroad that ran on a track outside the house, including under a waterfall. After his trip to Belize, Prillaman had planned to start decorating the house for Christmas, as he had done every year, when he returned from the Belize trip.






Jimmy Topping

Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer


Jimmy lived in Plymoth, North Carolina, but because of his close relationship with his cousins, the Pikes, Jimmy was involved in the RDC. He had been on the RDC trip to the Turks and Caicos, so the club  members on Wave Dancer already knew and liked him. In fact, he was one of the first people to sign up for the Belize trip and sent in his deposit of $200 in December, 2000.  He is survived by two daughters, the younger of whom learned of her father's death while watching the evening news on television.






Buddy Webb

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer.


A former marine, Buddy owned and operated an HVAC repair company in Richmond, Virginia. Buddy was the prankster of the group, and the nature of his anticipated hijinks on the Belize trip was the subject of much speculation and humor in the weeks prior to the trip. Buddy was a regular participant in the monthly RDC trips to Hatteras and always looked forward to diving North Carolina wrecks. Per his wishes, Buddy's ashes were scattered over the wreck of the Proteus off the deck of the Bayou Runner, Hatteras, North Carolina. He leaves behind two young sons.








Wave Dancer Crew





Aaron Stark

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer


Aaron was an instructor at Catalina Scuba Luv for three years prior to taking a position with Peter Hughes Diving, Inc. on the Wave Dancer. He had been on the Wave Dancer for less than a month when he was killed. The survivors report that Aaron was quite shy and said very little.









Brenda Wade

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer



Eloisa Johnson

 Died Oct 8, 2001
on board Wave Dancer



In Service to Despot, Two Belizean Women Pay with Their Lives

INDEPENDENCE, Belize, Oct. 21 -  Two Belizean women were among the twenty-two persons who drowned aboard the dive boat Wave Dancer when Hurricane Iris struck the coast of Big Creek last Monday night, October 8. Another woman, Angela Luk, who refused to stay aboard and was promptly fired by Capt. Philip Martin, would almost surely have lost her life if she did not defy the Captain. Eloisa Johnson, ship's cook on the Wave Dancer, wanted to leave, but she loved her job, and when the Captain threatened to fire her, she decided to stay. Brenda Wade, her friend and mother of one, also wanted to leave but stayed to keep Eloisa company. The two women were close in life, and they died that way.

On the day of the storm Brenda made several telephone calls. She called her husband, Beto Hall, in Corozal around 4:30 that afternoon.  "Brenda was crying," Hall recalls. She said to me:  'Babes, this dog (meaning the Captain) does not want me to leave the boat.'"

"I told her to get off. 'Do you want me to come and get you?'  "She replied: No, Beto. You stay there and make sure everything is all right with the house."

"Once more I urged her to get off the boat. She replied: 'But they will fire me, and I don¹t know where to go.' She then asked me to pray".

Visibly moved, Beto Hall told Reporter: "People need to know what was happening on that boat. My Eloisa wanted to get off, but they told her she would be fired, and because she loved her job, she stayed.

"I spoke to Eloisa¹s crew-mate, Bart Stanley, one of the survivors from the Wave Dancer," Hall continued. Bart was totally devastated by what had happened. He was standing beside Eloisa, who had finished cooking and was washing dishes when a rush of water came and carried her away.

"Bart told me that Brenda Wade was another special person. She was serving coffee after the meal when the wave came." Beto Hall went on to say: " I remember in 1999 Eloisa and I were aboard the Wave Dancer in Miami when Hurricane Irene was approaching. Authorities in Florida ordered a mandatory evacuation, and we spent the time in a hotel room. I do not know why the same did not happen here in our country."

The day after the storm Beto Hall drove to Big Creek. He was able to confirm his worst nightmare when he saw several bodies lined up on the pier. There was his Eloisa, still with her apron on, among the dead. Mrs. Bernadette Williams, sister of Brenda Wade, told Reporter:  "I think Brenda is dead because of negligence. The Wave Dancer was closer to Belize City from the start. I cannot understand why instead of seeking refuge in Belize City, they would choose to travel all the way south to Big Creek.

"I know that Brenda was trying to reach me on the telephone on Monday, October 8. She was trying to call, but she only got the BTL message service. She did not get me, but she spoke to my mother. If I had spoken to her, I would have urged her to leave the boat, regardless of the consequences."

Brenda also spoke to Beto Hall, Eloisa¹s husband, in Corozal. Beto was calling the Wave Dancer for Eloisa and got Brenda instead.

He said to her: "Brenda, you know this thing is coming right on top of you."  She said to him: "I know, Boy, but if we leave the Captain will fire us. But they have tied the boat up with some big ropes."

Beto Hall is still angry and bitter at the way the management of the dive service handled the emergency.

"I cannot understand how these people could have had these girls working in all that swaying from side to side," he said.  "I know that the Belizean agent, Ryan Vernon, knew of the situation and did nothing, just as he did nothing when the crew complained to him. Those girls had no contact with the Aggressor, their sister ship, which was moored alongside, because the captain had removed the VHF radio from the dive deck and the one from Eloisa¹s kitchen."

Hall, who kept in close contact with his wife by telephone, reports that according to Eloisa, Captain Martin was intent on completing a scheduled noon dive on Monday, the day of the hurricane. He was only dissuaded when a helicopter flew over with a flag signal, obliging him to cancel. Hall said that when he heard this he immediately telephoned Steve Young, a friend who had served on the Wave Dancer for eight years, and now lives in Placencia. Steve Young had walked off his job on the boat in disgust. Now Beto Hall turned to him for help. He asked his friend Steve to check up on Eloisa to make sure she would be OK.

"When I told Steve what was happening, he exclaimed the captain was crazy to travel to this area. He called me back around 4:30 to say that the boat had docked safely in Big Creek."

Source:
CDNN

























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