DWM Martin Aguilar great loss to the dive community of Cozumel

[parrotheaddiver]

I found this msg below posted on travelnotes...sad news

http://www.travelnotes.cc/tchatters/viewtopic.php?t=6918


just saw this posted on another board (cozumelmycozumel.com). Martin of "Dive with Martin" evidently passed away. Below is the post. What a great loss and tragedy. I know that some here dive with him so thought you might want to know. Rest in peace, Martin.

"Martin Aguilar "Dive with Martin", rest in peace"

some very sad news that i JUST found out... at 2am today, our wonderful martin aguilar, the "martin" from dive with martin, passed away. i do NOT know details, including exactly how he died, but heard that it may have had something to do with diving while sick and he got pneumonia. he leaves behind two small children and it is even more unfortunate because his wife passed away about 6 months ago. i am guessing his kids will be under the care of his mom.

martin was a wonderful man, a fantastic boss to his employees, and a genuine person with a heart of gold. he will be sorely missed. cozumel is shedding many tears today for this loss. please keep his children and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers...

dailene"

"misa (service) is friday, 7AM, at the guadalupe church on 8th and 60 or 65, then the burial... for those who want to pay their respects.

martin did so much for the island and the kids of cozumel. i will miss him terribly."

 

[Christi]

This is very sad news indeed. I knew that he had been very sick for the past couple of months, but I had no idea it was so serious.

I was in shock when I heard the news yesterday morning.

Rest in peace Martin.

 

[Shepman]

Man, that is tragic news. Martin was the nicest, friendliest guy you ever met. He built his entire business on his love of diving and his reputation.

I met him when my regular dive op at the time was having boat & DM problems, so there was "no room at the inn" for me the first day. The guy who ran my dive op said "just go dive with Martin". That's what his business was then, he was just a great local diver and people would go diving with him.

Diving with martin was always a fun experience and he made his business from the ground up. He loved to dive and people liked to go with him and his no frills dive operation.

He was a living example of the Coz spirit. A great guy who loved the sea and diving.

It's a great loss and the tribe is smaller by one.

 

[scubamgb]

I am very sadden by this news about Martin passing away. Such a loss to the dive community. He and his dive operation were always well spoken of. I was in Cozumel last week and dove with DWM. Great DMs and boat captians but never heard a word about Martin being ill. I can only hope DWM continues to stay in business and with the same spirit of Martin Aguilar. May he rest in peace.

 

[squarepants]

I'm so sorry to hear this. We always use Dive With Martin, but have never met him, however I have heard really wonderful things about Martin Aguilar.

 

[spyder]

Sad news. We dove with Martin in the 80's(?) when he was with Del Mar Aquatics. I remember one week there was a lot of aggravation at the dive shop. The next morning we were eating breakfast at Casa del Mar and there was a new boat anchored off shore with Dive with Martin on the side.

 

[Ron Brandt]

This makes me very sad, I was introduced to Martin about a year ago......very nice guy! I had no idea he was sick.......

Ronnie

 

[5615mike]

Very sad. RIP Martin. Met you one time and you were very gracious. My very best and prayers are with his family and friends. He ran a nice operation and I am sure had many friends and much respect from the Cozumel community.

 

[LVX]

I was in Cozumel this past week and was using Dive with Martin as my operator. This was only my second time with his crew and both times we had a great trip. What I had heard was he had a heart attack. We asked his crew on our boat and we were told he was very stressed over having to leave his young children each day to deal with the dive operations. With his wife's death in May, he wanted to spend more time with his kids. This is a terrible shame. I only met him once but he seemed like a very nice down to earth person. My thoughts go out to his family and especially his children who now have lost both parents.

LVX

 

[Christi]

I was in Cozumel this past week and was using Dive with Martin as my operator. This was only my second time with his crew and both times we had a great trip. What I had heard was he had a heart attack. We asked his crew on our boat and we were told he was very stressed over having to leave his young children each day to deal with the dive operations. With his wife's death in May, he wanted to spend more time with his kids. This is a terrible shame. I only met him once but he seemed like a very nice down to earth person. My thoughts go out to his family and especially his children who now have lost both parents.

LVX

Martin has been very sick for the past month or so, but I didn't realize it was terminal. He died due to complications from his illness, but his official cause of death has not been made public and the family may elect to keep it that way.

His passing is not only a loss to the diving community, but to the island. I didn't know him well, but what I did know of him is that he was a genuine man with a very big heart.

Martin gave me my very first Instructor job (as a freelance). I was so nervous to do my first certification, but he gave me some great tips and alot of encouragement, and for that I will always be thankful!