Steve Donathan Remembered

[JS1scuba]

June 25, 2005 our friend and fellow underwater explorer Steven Donathan died while diving on the Yukon in San Diego. Steve was the cornerstone of technical diving in Southern California at the time. We had become fast friends when we moved west and I always enjoyed being with him. His excitement about diving and showing people the underwater world was unsurpassed.

In 2006 Tyler Stalter and I placed this Memorial Plaque on the wreck of the Yukon in Steve's memory. If you swim by this plaque when on the wreck take a moment and clean it off.

The words on the plaque read as :

Steven Oliver Donathan
July 4, 1955 - June 25, 2005

In the water he was home. There he was seamless, fluid, perfect.

In life we get few heroes. Steve was a hero to his family, friends, students, and admirers. He was a hero to the next person he would meet who would listen to him about diving exploration. Drive and passion for what he loved elevated him to the level of hero long before he left us.

Let’s Go Diving !
Steve D_ Memorial Plaque.jpg
Explorer, Adventurer, Hero

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Seven years later Steve is still missed by many. He's out there somewhere exploring something I am sure.

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[Mo2vation]

Jaye and I dived with Steve, rather, dived off of a boat he DM'd about six weeks before his fatal incident.

It didn't take long to realize he was a different type of cat. His mid-week dives deep into Scripps canyon, and their subsequent photos and detailed, prose-filled reports were something I loved reading for several weeks before his passing.

I attended one of his burgers and dive mid-week events. He was a quirky guy who was absolutely my kind of people.

We stayed in touch via eMail and through his list up until the incident.

I do miss his infectious spirit. Truly, one of a kind.

Rest well, buddy.


-Ken