Meet The Diver: Merry Passage
Posted on 06. Jul, 2009 by DiveVets in Meet The Diver
Maybe you’ve been out to one of the Old Marineland dives and noticed a gal that is so excited that she just spotted some kind of nudibranch on her last dive, or better yet, who is the diver that is deliriously happy from seeing absolutely nothing at a Veteran’s Park dive? Well, that someone is Merry Passage. Merry’s love for the sport is contagious. She is a trooper, she doesn’t whine about it being too cold, she doesn’t whine about poor visibility. What she does do, is thoroughly enjoy diving and the fact that she is involved with a group that shares her enthusiasm. Divers, meet Merry Passage.
Merry surrounded by dive buddies.
Merry is one of only a hand full of true California natives. Merry did move to Phoenix when she was young, back when Phoenix was still mostly farmland. Merry had a horse and spent a lot of time in the dessert collecting bugs, rocks, toads, plants and desiccated dead things. Merry says that her interest in biological sciences sprang from the beauty and mystery of the Sonoran Desert. Merry’s other early interest was studying violin and ballet. Interestingly, Merry’s good friend Mo had these same early interests.
Merry earned a Master of Science degree at Arizona State University and she jumped at the chance to work at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. She has been there almost 30 years now and her passion for her work has never diminished. Merry is the laboratory manager and project coordinator in clinical research for a genetic disease at LA Biomedical Research Institute. Very impressive!
Merry has 3 children, Paul, Gabriel and Carrie. We’re sure Merry feels like she has plenty more children at some of our debriefings. Merry was asked why she choose to dive with DiveVets. Her response, “I heard about DiveVets.com during my OW class at Dive N Surf, and was impressed with the innovative, comprehensive website. I was fascinated with write-ups of divers, their past trips, tips and equipment care. The site showed that DiveVets is a well organized, goal and safety oriented group with varied interests. It was also apparent that the Vetters are accomplished divers who take pride in sharing their knowledge and skills. Kate (whom I met in KK’s Peak Performance Buoyancy class) got me to attend the Wednesday night dive, where Rick, Dan, Shanon and Sam bravely introduced me to the real world of diving in red tide. The dive experiences have been amazing, but the real reason I love to dive with Divevets is the people.”.
Merry and Lars
Merry is continuing to log dives and has dived many of the SoCal beaches, along with Catalina and Santa Cruz Islands. Merry wants to get Wreck certified and dive all of the Channel Islands. Merry’s big trip, yet to be planned, is a dive trip to the Galapagos Islands. Merry has her AOW, Peak Perforamance and Sea Signs certifications. She wants to attain the Master Scuba Diver level and she would really like to dive for the Catalina Island Conservancy.
Merry passed the 100 dive mark sometime ago and DiveVets divers have been lucky enough to be on a number of those dives as her buddy. If you haven’t had an opportunity to meet Merry, go introduce yourself and don’t be surprised if you come away a more enthusiastic diver.