Cayman’s dive community has been paying tribute to one of its own – Thomas Shropshire, owner of Off the Wall Divers, who died unexpectedly while visiting family in the United States last week. He was 65.
Shropshire, known to many simply as ‘Shrop’, was a familiar friendly face among divers on the island, having worked in the dive industry here for nearly three decades, during which he taught hundreds of people, including many children, to dive and took countless more on unforgettable underwater journeys.
His brother, Jim, told the Compass that Shropshire had died in his sleep while staying at home on the family farm in Fayette County, Lexington, Kentucky, where they both grew up, and where Jim and his wife Jane still live.
He said heart disease runs in the family and his brother had suffered and survived a major heart attack five years ago. “The doctors were able to bring him back that time, literally,” he said. “That, of course, didn’t happen this time. He had a major heart event. I guess the positive way to look at it is that he got five years that he wouldn’t have had otherwise, and we’re grateful for that.”
He added, “He absolutely loved Cayman and he loved the dive industry … Even at 65 and with health issues, he didn’t seem to want to quit and leave it.”
He said it was family legend that Tom’s connection to the Cayman Islands began before he was even born.
“We first came down in 1958. I was about 5 years old and Tommy wasn’t on the scene yet. We had a nice trip… we stayed at the Pageant Beach Hotel. We did the North Sound trip with Captain Ernest, and we still have photos from that trip back in the ’50s. And so, the family lore is that nine months after that trip, Tommy appeared.”
Jim Shropshire Sr., his wife Martha and their two boys were frequent visitors to Grand Cayman. Jim Sr. was involved in business here and the family owned a home on the island.
A photograph of an 11-year-old Tommy, in 1970, holding a dive tank was a sign of things to come, indicating an early start to what would become a lifelong passion for diving and a career that combined his love of the sea and his love of interaction with people from all walks of life.
Social media posts of those remembering Shropshire range from old school friends to repeat dive customers to former employees, and people he met just once but continued to correspond with over many years.
Sister-in-law Jane said the family has been “overwhelmed – in the best way – by the outpouring of love and support” from the many people who have been sharing their reminiscences, stories and photos of Shropshire.
Jim added, “He had a world of contacts and friends from all over, and certainly in Cayman. It gives us a great deal of comfort to see what people are saying, that he touched the lives of so many people and vice versa … it makes us happy to see he had lots of friends and people who thought well of him.”
Initially Shropshire worked in the travel industry as a travel agent, and later, with COMAIR, a Delta Connection carrier. He became a dive instructor in 1995, and joined Red Sail Sports in Grand Cayman in 1996. He spent six months here before moving to the Bahamas for 18 months. He then returned to Cayman where he worked for Parrots Landing and Tortuga Divers, before managing the Cayman Aggressor IV business office for eight years.
After a year and a half off island, he then returned to Cayman and bought Off The Wall Divers.
As well as diving, Shropshire’s other great joys in life came from going to concerts, following popular musicians, and attending sporting events. It was his tradition to post a ‘QCR’ – a Quick Concert Review – of the gigs he went to, and a critique of the games he watched. In fact, in the days before his passing, he had attended, and posted his views on, an ELO concert and an Indiana Fever vs Atlanta Dream basketball game.
Tributes from people Shropshire had taught to dive, or had worked with, or who shared his love of music and sport flooded social media in the days following his death.
Former employee Mary Shimko said Shropshire had been more than a boss to her, describing as a “mentor and constant believer” in her potential.
Sergio Coni, of Don Foster’s Dive, described Shropshire’s death a great loss to Cayman’s dive community. “Our Island will not be the same without you, Tom. I will treasure our chats and I am forever thankful for your help and advice,” he wrote on Shropshire’s Facebook page.
Peter Milburn, of Peter Milburn’s Dive Cayman Ltd., said Shropshire was a good friend “not just in diving but as a good person in every sense of the word”.
Kelly Reineking, who makes jewellery from lionfish fins and spines, posted, “He was such a kind and generous person. Always donating to charities he believed in and helping friends out. He’d take us out lionfish hunting on his boat and not want to charge us because that’s just the person he was.”
Another of his friends, Mitchell Jay Goldman, said he had nicknamed him ‘Shropasaurus’. “When he asked why that was his name in the underwater photos, I said he was a unique underwater creature,” he said.
He added, “I do not think you will find a kinder and gentler soul. He spent his life caring and worrying about others. I have never seen a business owner worry more about his charges. They weren’t just employees, they were family. He also knew how to be a great friend.”
Several posts were from parents who had trusted Shropshire to teach their children how to dive, with many of those children growing up and returning to dive in Cayman again and again.
Shropshire was also a staunch advocate for the conservation of Cayman’s coral reefs. Among his efforts was getting involved in restoration work on the reef in George Town, after a cruise ship damaged coral, by lending his boat to take divers to the site and donating tanks of air.
He was also a longtime supporter of the Cayman Islands Breast Cancer Foundation, donating equipment and money each year during Women’s Dive Day, organised by Divetech.
Jo Mikutowicz, owner of Divetech, said Shropshire would reach out every year pledging to donate several hundred dollars to the Breast Cancer Foundation, and then challenge other dive operators to match his donation. This past year, he doubled his usual donation, she said.
“In 2020, the COVID year, he came to the event along with his staff, bringing tanks and transporting divers and their equipment in his van to and from their cars parks up the road,” she added.
His family, who say details of gatherings to remember Shropshire in Kentucky and in Cayman will be announced at a later date, in response to queries of where people can direct memorial contributions, said, “We believe Tommy would tell you to follow your hearts and contribute wherever you feel a meaningful difference can be made.”
They cited the Cayman Islands Breast Cancer Foundation, Cayman Heart Foundation, Central Caribbean Marine Institute and Stay-Focused as potential charities for donations.
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