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Old 10-11-2014, 09:21 PM   #1
halibutmike
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Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dp...,1112800.story

Pioneering diver, scuba instructor and businessman Ron Merker dies at 82
Ron Merker June 17, 1932, to Sept. 22, 2014


By Jeremiah Dobruck
October 9, 2014 | 6:19 p.m.
Ron Merker, a pioneering scuba and skin diver who co-owned a chain of diving stores and helped introduce thousands to the pastime in the waves off Corona del Mar, died recently at his Laguna Niguel home. He was 82.

Merker dove until Parkinson's disease forced him to hang up his fins 10 years ago, according to a news release from his family.

Scuba diving was a fledgling endeavor in the 1940s when friends from Santa Ana took Merker to Newport Beach and introduced him to skin diving.

Merker said that after being hospitalized with polio for months as a child, he had trouble with the coordination and balance needed in team sports, so he embraced diving as an athletic outlet that he could practice on his own.

He eventually took a job on the first charter boat to ferry divers to Catalina Island in the 1950s. With that experience, Merker began introducing Southern Californians to scuba.

From the early 1960s until 1996, Merker co-owned and managed Aquatic Center diving stores in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Santa Ana. The Newport Beach location is still open on West Coast Highway.

Merker spearheaded diving lessons before there was any formal template for scuba training, said his son, Lance.

At its peak, Merker oversaw six year-round instructors guiding beginners in pools around Newport, advancing to trips at Little Corona Beach and culminating with a final dive at Catalina.

With a crew cut, athletic build and strict teaching style, Merker came across like a Marine instructor, his son said.

"Although he was never a drill sergeant and he was the kindest, most gentle person, he had that kind of shtick," Lance Merker said. "You were a good diver when you finished his program."

Lance Merker learned to dive as a child and still spearfishes — another water activity in which his father's name is well-known.

For 20 years, Ron Merker held a world record for spearing a 57-pound bluefin tuna while free diving, in which divers hold their breath instead of relying on scuba gear.

"He was an inspiration, frankly, to a whole generation of free divers and spearfishermen," Lance Merker said.

Ron Merker is survived by his wife of 59 years, Carol Ann Merker; brother, Robert Merker; daughter, Michelle Merker; son, Lance Merker; and three grandchildren.
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Old 10-11-2014, 09:55 PM   #2
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

Ron was one of a kind old school...he mentored me on how to work the high spots at Catalina back when I was a greenhorn at everything maritime related...I survived..which is a testament to his good advice and sound judgement when I had none....
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Old 10-11-2014, 10:27 PM   #3
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

Thanks for sharing Mike. Ron sure was a real pioneer. I recently bought on DVD the entire television run of Sea Hunt starring Lloyd Bridges as Diver Mike Nelson. Those were good ole times it seems in California diving.

May Ron rest in eternal peace. Tony
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Old 10-11-2014, 10:44 PM   #4
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

That is a real shame. Ron was always SO cool, and helpful. He would listen to your issue, and offer up a solution, and nearly every time, it was a perfect fix to your problem- from clearing your ears better, to how to relax, to how to approach a certain reef or a certain type of fish.

He had a real good stash of old school spearfishing parts. When you'd show up with a fossil you bought cheap at a garage sale, he was always happy to chip in some parts to make the old gun get back hunting; and he rarely charged you more than like $5 for the parts...... he knew we were broke kids and just wanted to see us diving.
When I went back as a competing diver, to visit and say hi, he remembered some of the old stuff I brought in to him, to share and see if he remembered me from almost 15 years prior. He was happy to see the stuff, and to hear how I was using much of it in modern competition against the likes of the Esclapez and Picasso guns. That made him real happy; a 30 year old gun that had just won a dive meet.

I hope there are enough of us who will treat young divers like that as we progress, so the next generation will also be able to look back fondly, and they will be willing to reciprocate and pay it forward to the next generation. Guys like Ron, John Modugno, Pinder, Prodonovich and Sturgill sure did.

All gentlemen. Rest in Peace Ron.
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Old 10-12-2014, 10:57 PM   #5
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

I know my father's life intersected with many freedivers and spearfishermen -- mostly here in Southern California where he lived his entire life.

He was a great husband, father, and grandfather, but to thousands of divers he was know mostly as an instructor. He taught diving (scuba, freediving, and spearfishing) for 35 years in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Thanks for all your thoughts and kind words. Dad lived a wonderful life!

Below are a few of my favorite photos. Some of these you may have seen in articles over the last 60 years -- some even on the covers of magazines from back in the day (when there were diving magazines). Note the photos of the 16mm motion picture camera mounted to the long tom Sampson Speargun -- 60 years before the GoPro it was a lot harder to get those shots we all take for granted now!

















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Old 10-12-2014, 11:03 PM   #6
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

One more photo. Dad's legacy...three generations of freedive speros!

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Old 10-12-2014, 11:27 PM   #7
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

Thanks for the pictures, my god was that lobster big
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Old 10-12-2014, 11:48 PM   #8
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

Great photos Lance. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 10-13-2014, 12:05 AM   #9
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

We called his Sampson gun, the "wrist breaker"...I think he was the only diver who could hit a fish with one....Thanks for the memory recall.....
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Old 10-13-2014, 12:10 AM   #10
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

Wow; great stuff Lance. Thank you; your dad really helped me out, it seems like only a few years back....... but the first go round was more like 30 years ago, and then 20 years ago, at the shop in Newport.

I was saddened to see him retire, but I totally understand that he could not go on running a shop forever- I just miss each and every old timer when they move on.

I'm sorry for your loss; diving has had a great loss as well, though few would even know it- the sport has grown so much (In part due to your dad's work!!)

And for those of us who knew him, it was a great pleasure. Godspeed!!!
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Old 10-13-2014, 03:06 AM   #11
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

Thanks for this great thread and the history it contains. My sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased

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Old 10-13-2014, 11:08 AM   #12
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

Legendary...RIP.
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Old 10-13-2014, 11:36 AM   #13
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

I'm sorry for your loss Lance.
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Old 10-13-2014, 11:47 AM   #14
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

What a wonderful man! A legend, a great spear fisherman, and a mentor to so many. May his memory live long. Those will be hard shoes to fill.
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Old 10-13-2014, 11:54 PM   #15
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Re: Pioneering diver Ron Merker dies at 82

RIP Ron Merker. His old photos were so inspirational to me, still are. What a great time period the fathers had in SoCal!!
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