Drowned diver had 40 years of experience
Randolph Smay was near Phil Foster Park when he didn’t surface.
Family baffled by PSL man’s death Friday.
Randolph Smay was no newcomer to scuba diving.
The native Pennsylvanian was certified for 40 years, diving both in the U.S. and internationally, in dangerous spots such as underwater caves and strip mines and doing so at night.
But it was on a relatively mundane dive Friday that the 65-yearold Port St. Lucie resident lost his life.
Smay was in the water with his adult niece near Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach when he failed to surface. Rescue crews — including a Palm Beach County sheriff ’s helicopter, dive team and marine unit — were dispatched to the area and searched for around two hours, but were unable to locate Smay.
His body was recovered at the Blue Heron bridge hours later, according to PBSO.
“He was a very good diver,” Ralphene Smay, Randolph’s wife of 43 years, said Saturday. “Something went wrong. We don’t understand what happened.”
Smay said her husband was in excellent health and had passed a physical examination on Wednesday with no issues.
Randolph’s niece reported that her uncle showed no signs of distress during their dive.
Smay lived most of his life in
Apollo, Pennsylvania, a town of around 1,700 people 35 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. He was employed by a heavy equipment company for 42 years before retiring last August and moving to Port St. Lucie, his wife said.
Being in Florida allowed Smay to engage in two of his passions — diving and motorcycling.
“He was so excited to be here,” Ralphene Smay said. “He hated the cold and snow and loved the water.”
Ralphene Smay and her husband were high school sweethearts, meeting when he was 18 and she was 16. Their daughter, Marissa, is 31.
“He was kind and gentle, always willing to help some- one out,” she said.
It was Ralphene who needed Randolph’s help in April when she became seriously ill and was on life support in a hospital for 12 days.
“He was the one that took care of me, and now he’s gone,” she said.
Smay will be cremated and a ceremony in his honor will be held in Pennsylvania, his wife said.
According to the most recent annual report by Divers Alert Network, a leading research and divesafety organization, 39 people died in the U.S. in 2015 as the result of recreational scuba diving incidents. Of that total, 14 died in Florida.
Most of the victims were ages 50 to 69.