I became a full-time dive instructor in late 2001 after becoming fed up working in my trade and I needed a new lease on life. So I went to work in a number of Perth-based dive centres on a contract basis until I was offered a manager's position at a small but entrepreneurial business.
After some restructuring we dived all year round running tours through Perth and Dunsborough during the summer months. I reserved the Albany tours through Ron's dive shop during the winter months as whilst the water was cold, conditions were best. We ran the odd summer tour to cater for our clients who had dived every other tour.
As the proprietor of Albany Scuba Diving Academy in a large regional centre in Western Australia, Ron was doing it tough as competition was tight. Even though Ron was instrumental in organising the scuttling of the former Charles F Adams class guided missile destroyer the HMAS Perth, the upkick in business didn't come. Perth based divers thought it was too far to travel to dive at a tad of just over 500 kilometres.
Our short tours run through West Australia Dive Centre were very popular with overseas tour groups with a special emphasis on Japanese tours. Ron organised great accommodation and great atmosphere for our tours.
We had a great party on Saturday night with a barbecue, dancing and drinks - for some, the Saturday night eclipsed the diving. It was my view that this was our best tour that we had on our books.
Eventually I moved on from full-time dive employment into a government job, I still remained a part-time instructor and then business owner for a number of years afterwards.
I still kept in touch with Ron and would come down to dive in Albany occasionally. Unfortunately Ron got pretty sick and his struggling dive operation went under, we would catch up and discuss the dive business and business conditions in general over a few drinks.
Upon his return to health, Ron took a job in the agricultural sector before picking up a job as a safety representative in the booming mining industry. Owing to his extensive life experiences, self-confidence garnered as a dive instructor, small business background and general outgoing demeanor, Ron picked up a very good overseas position in the oil and gas industry.
Ron went from struggling for money ever since I knew him to being a guy flush with money - I was really happy for him. We corresponded regularly via social media as I was up late every evening with study and he was on the other side of the world.
We discussed plenty of issues and he was pretty quick to tell me if he thought I was heading down the wrong path - I was more than happy to listen to his opinion.
Ron was getting ready to return to his job in Africa when he felt some pain in his left flank. He went to the doctor and was passed as fit for work and able to head off back to Africa.
He had some reservations and pushed his personal friend who was also his doctor to look deeper when late stage pancreatic cancer was discovered. Ron never returned to work as his full-time job was now cancer treatment.
During his extensive time in hospital battling cancer treatments and associated side-effects, I was able to correspond once again through social media. The last time I saw Ron was in St John of God Hospital in Subiaco when I dropped in after a football game.
Ron was recognisable but had lost plenty of muscle and size, I knew then that this wasn't great and I was very concerned for him. At least we were able to laugh about the size I had expanded owing to my lack of meaningful exercise due to study commitments over the previous five years.
I hadn't seen Ron online for a while when I sent him a concerned message via social media asking how he was. A couple of days later his wife Kate messaged me through LinkedIn informing me Ron had passed away at home. I chatted with her for a while and I guess it was uncomfortable for both of us because our exchange was polite but stilted.
I searched through his Facebook profile for a picture of him, I haven't asked his wife for permission which is wrong on some accounts but I don't really want to contact her to remind her of Ron's death and I'm sure she will be ok with this. Ron departed well before he should have and a year on I still miss this guy.
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