'Deep Sea' Jimmy Lockard remembered by his friend and 'brother'

I met Jim Lockard aka ‘Jimmy’ or ‘Deep Sea’ in 1976 at Dan’s Dive Shop. He had been recently certified by Dan that spring. At that time my fellow instructor and buddy and I had planned on a dive, but he ended up not being able to go. Jimmy happened to be in the store and I asked him if he could do a dive. That was the beginning of a 48-year friendship! A friend, a buddy, a confidant - another brother, as he often referred to me.

Our wives became friends, and our kids got to know each other as they grew up. Over the years, we travelled together with our wives and always tried to squeeze some diving in on those trips. When Jim and Sylvia travelled, he always took his mask and camera and dove at many locations around the world. Jim and I travelled to Resolute Bay in the High Arctic, the Mediterranean Sea, Truk Lagoon, and Roatan and did a lots of local diving with the Brock University Scuba Club and later the Niagara Divers Association.

Our last overseas dive trip together was to the Portuguese island of Madeira earlier this year. He and Sylvia had been there previously.  Jimmy had met another diver named Ferdinando there, and they had become fast friends. It was great for the three of us to do some diving this past April.

We developed an interest in wreck conservation and archaeology in the 1980s and he became a president of Save Ontario Shipwrecks (SOS) in its early years. During a project we worked on in the Lower Niagara River, we met members of another group, the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee (OMHC), and we both joined this organization and worked on many projects conducted by its members.

Wonderful friendships grew during this time, and it was for a meeting of the OMHC that Jim and I had travelled to Brockville recently. We decided to drive up on Friday and do some diving there prior to the Sunday meeting.

Jim, as always, was excited about the dives and we had a very pleasant shallow dive at Canteen Park on the shore of the St. Lawrence on Friday afternoon.

It was during this trip to Brockville when, on Sunday, Oct. 19, after descending for one more dive, Jimmy tragically suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away.

Jimmy had a gregarious personality and he made friends easily. Facebook became an element which allowed him the ability to keep in touch with relatives, old and new friends, and members of the dive community. We were used to getting updates and humorous posts form Jimmy on a daily basis.

He was always very enthusiastic about diving and spreading his love and enthusiasm for the sport. He will be deeply missed by friends, family and fellow divers.