US dive industry veteran Jerry Beaty has passed away after a short illness, and social media has been full of fellow industry professionals paying their respects to this larger-than-life character.
Beaty entered the diving industry back in the 1970s, and went on to create All Sun Tours, which became the largest dive wholesale travel company to cater exclusively to dive retailers and their students.
In 1996, he joined Dive Training Magazine as advertising manager, and was soon promoted to associate publisher, serving on the magazine until it ceased print publication. He sat on many boards, including the Sea of Change, DEMA, Reef Renewal International and the Shark Research Institute, where his long-time knowledge of the industry were greatly valued.
Rork Media Limited’s Editorial Director Mark Evans said: “I briefly met Jerry several times over the years, usually at DEMA in the States, but I got to spend a week with him in Grenada and Carriacou in 2019 during the annual DiveFest event and he proved to be a one-of-a-kind personality, that’s for sure!
“I caught up with him for a short while at the Scuba Show in Long Beach, California, in late-May, and he congratulated us on our acquisition of the Scuba Show and California Diving News, and said he was looking forward to seeing what we did going forward – little did I know that would be the last time I would talk to him.
“He will be sorely missed, and our condolences go to his family and friends.”
Jerry was family. I knew him my whole life, and his wife Shawn. They were the best.