RIP: Jeff Simonds, 32, Fla marine biologist, spearfisherman

[KeysCuda]

Jeff Simonds, a marine biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, was killed in a Thursday vehicle collision on the Seven Mile Bridge, south of Marathon in the Florida Keys.

From the FWC:
Jeff Simonds, a marine biologist who worked for the agency for more than eight years, died Thursday from injuries sustained in a car accident. The accident occurred just before 4 p.m. on the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys.
The 32-year-old was working with the Keys Fisheries Research Program at the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s (FWRI) Marathon lab. He joined the agency in 2002 at FWRI’s Cedar Key lab.
Simonds graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., with a Bachelor of Science in marine biology. He attended C.W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, N.Y.
Simonds was a dedicated biologist who will be greatly missed.

Mr. Simonds posted on other boards (and this one?) as "Keezdiver."
See the link:
R.I.P Jeffrey Simonds (keezdiver) - Spearboard Spearfishing Community

 

[tommy tiger]

Wow. So sorry to hear of such a tragedy He certainly is a loss to all of us Someone who is so dedicated in love to our ocean environment
Thanks Mr. Simonds "Keezdiver." "Fair Winds and Following Seas" Godspeed.
I lived in the keys for years and know that area quite well It's one hairy highway and i know of many who have had the same fate and had many very close close calls myself. The ocean much safer it seems in comparison.RIP Jeffrey Simonds "Keezdiver"

To close my eyes is to be at sea
This dream lasts all day to me
One day is like twenty years at sea

That if I would,
I would stand immortally at sea
Hoping for eternity at sea

Wonder covered sea
I would bless the shore
And leave to be once more

Out at sea to sail
And stand upon a ship and sway
Listen to the creak of the wood, and say

To close my eyes is to be at sea
A dream that lasts eternity
Eternity, guaranteed, to live

Would one day be eternity
I would spend it out at sea

by Annie Cordelia Adams

 

[Wildbill]

Wow..... Such a shame and surely a great loss to all. Gods Speed, Brother.....

 

[Chad Carney]

Jeff was a very avid experienced diver. Life is certainly fragile. RIP Jeff.

Chad

 

[KeysCuda]

Memorial Simonds spearfishing event:

Contact: Keys SCUBA Shack

“SIMONDS SNAPPER SHOOTOUT” MEMORIAL SPEARFISH TOURNAMENT
TO HONOR FWC BIOLOGIST JEFF “KEEZDIVER” SIMONDS

Florida Keys – There will be a one-day snapper only spearfish tournament held in memory of Jeff “KeezDiver” Simonds on Saturday, March 6, 2010.
Simonds, 32, was a biologist in the Finfish Program for FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, stationed in the Marathon office. He lost his life in a tragic auto accident on the Seven Mile Bridge on February 18, 2010.
He leaves behind his wife, Jessica, who teaches 6th Grade Science at Marathon Middle School. Unfortunately, Jeff was a contractor with the FWC, not an employee, and his wife will receive no death benefits.
The Captain’s meeting will take place Friday, March 5 at 6 pm at Keys SCUBA Shack at the Hurricane Hole Marina on Stock Island. Participants are permitted to hunt anywhere in the Florida Keys on Saturday, March 6. The rules are simple. Shoot any two legal snapper, and the total combined weight will determine the winner. The weigh-in will take place at Keys SCUBA Shack from 5 to 6 pm. All fish must be gutted before the participant enters the weigh-in line, and weigh-in will close promptly at 6 pm.
Entry fee is $50 per person. There is one division only and it is open for free dive, SCUBA, male, female and all ages. First place will be awarded a Spearfishing Specialties Ocean Rhino 5X, valued at over $500 and donated by Keys SCUBA Shack.
Event organizers are selling raffle tickets for prizes that are too numerous to list but include fishing charters, dive charters, spearguns, pole spears, diving apparel, masks, E-Sea Rider beanbag chairs, float lines, restaurant gift certificates and more. Raffle tickets are $5. The winners will be drawn at approximately 7 pm on March 6 upstairs at Hurricane Hole, and you need not be present to win. Raffle tickets are available at Keys SCUBA Shack or Capt. Hook’s and Tilden’s in Marathon. If you are interested in donating prizes or purchasing raffle tickets, please contact Jeremy Foell at (305) 360-5891 or email keezfreediver@yahoo.com.
All proceeds from this memorial tournament and raffle will go to Jessica Simonds.