In the early morning hours of Monday, September 2nd, a 75-foot commercial diving boat, the Conception, was wrapping up a Labor Day weekend excursion when it burst into blames off the coast of Santa Cruz Island in California.  Thirty-four people who were sleeping below deck were trapped.  They died pursuing their passion for diving. Along with the rest of the world I was shocked and saddened to hear of the tragedy.

A  few days later, I learned that one of the victims was a colleague of my granddaughter Claire.  His name was Kaustabh Nirmal; he and his wife were on holiday pursuing their new interest, scuba diving. Much media coverage was given to speculation on the cause of the tragedy and the commitment to investigate the situation and the determination that it would never happen again; but nothing will bring back the lives lost.  They will remain only in our memory.

Kaustubh grew up in Jaipor, Rajasthan Province, India, and received his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Sciences from the University of Mumbai, then came to the USA and earned his Master’s degree in Management Information Systems and Services from NYU, Stern School of Business.  Having previously worked for Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, he was a strategic business technologist at Ernst and Young in NYC with more than six years experience driving enterprise-wide transformation using information systems as a tool to solve complex business problems.  He worked at the desk next to Claire.

She described him as a dedicated teammate and friend.  “Kaustubh was our team’s CFO – Chief Fun Officer. His enthusiasm, good humor and adventurous spirit were obvious to all who knew him. His comradery showed through the team events he initiated such as Pizza Fridays and TTT (Third Thirsty Thursday). He was a story teller and was always happy to share experiences and knowledge with others, including where to find the best biryani in the neighborhood – a tip for which we are all grateful. His face, voice and desk were the first thing we would notice when entering the 14^th Floor office. I will miss his teamwork, conversation, and friendship.”

Many others corroborated the image that he had a heightened sense of humor and was always happy and in addition was a genuine intellectual who fulfilled given tasks with his best efforts and a positive attitude. They said he had a thirst for learning and the expectation of a bright future.

Kaustubh and Sanjeeri Deopujari married in 2016, and lived in Stamford, Connecticut, where she was a dentist. Neighbors at their apartment building remembered them walking together with their Chow Chow dog, Bibi.  They were seen as “soulmates,” “the perfect couple.” Recalling their endearing and infectious smiles, a cousin noted that their love for each other was apparent even without them speaking about it. He said, “Their death was untimely and unfair, but even God didn’t have the heart to separate them.  They are together for eternity.”

Others who died in the tragedy were:

The Quintasol Family of five:  Evan 37, Nicole, 31, Angela 28, Michael, 62, and Fernisa Sison, 57, all of whom were certified divers.  The weekend was meant to be a celebration of Michael’s 63^rd birthday.

Alexandra “Allie” Kurtz, 26, described as a go-getter who was following her dream.

Raymond “Scott” Chan, 59 and his daughter Kendra, 25:  avid divers who bonded over their shared love of the ocean. Scott, a former engineer, was a teacher of AP physics at American High School in Fremont, CA; and Kendra, a marine biologist graduate of UC Davis who was dedicated to creating a healthier planet.

Steven Salika, 55, Tia Salika-Adamic, 17, and Carol Adamic, 60:  embarked on the diving expedition to celebrate Tia’s birthday.  Tia had taken scuba diving lessons at Kids Sea Camp from the time she was six.  Berenice Felipe, one of Tia’s classmates was also on the trip.  The two girls were inseparable; both attended Pacific Collegiate School in Santa Cruz.

Charles McIlvain, 44: visual effects designer known for his work on films such as Spider Man and Green Lantern and his friend Marybeth Guiney.  His family said his laugh was the greatest and his smile could light up the dark; he embraced life with exceptional joy, openness and humor; and all who knew him felt his warmth.  For Marybeth, who lived in Santa Monica, diving started as a hobby but turned into a passion.  She loved the ocean and wanted to do what she could to protect that environment.

Wei Tan, 26, had just received her Master of Engineering degree from UC Berkeley in June and began her new job as data scientist with Evidation Health in Santa Barbara.  She earned her diving certification when she was 17 and was excited about this diving trip.  She was doing something she loved in the last few moments of her life.

Sunil Singh Sandhu, 45, moved from his native Singapore to pursue degrees in Electrical Engineering at Christian Brothers University and Stanford.  His family described him as a brilliant child who excelled in his studies.  He was working as a silicon photonics senior scientist at the San Francisco based company Pointcloud Inc., and had started diving just two months prior to the accident.

Xiang Lin, 45, was a native of Beijing.  After attending Tsinghua University she moved to the US to earn a master’s degree in computer science at Brown University. The degree led to engineer and program manager roles at major companies like Apple and Microsoft.  Most recently she was researching artificial intelligence as a partner at Acorn Summit Ventures, a private equity and venture capital firm in the Bay Area.  Known for her generosity and charisma she made many friends.  She was warm, loving, athletic, courageous, intelligent, and funny; her curiosity and passion impacted and inspired many with whom she came into contact.  She was also a nature lover who enjoyed hiking and spending time wind surfing and scuba diving.

Lisa Fiedler, 52, texted her mother just hours before she died saying, “I’m having a great time, beautiful spot.”  Lisa was a hairdresser in Mill Valley.  She was a kind, gentle person, a naturalist.  Born under the sign of Pisces, she claimed to be part fish.

Daniel Garcia, 46, was as passionate about his job at Apple as he was about his love of diving.  His girlfriend Yulia Krashennaya, 40, accompanied him on the trip.

Kristian Takvam, 34, and Caroline McLaughlin, 35, engineers at education platform Brilliant, based in San Francisco, were described as incredible friends and colleagues who brought immense passion, talent, leadership and warmth to all they encountered.

Adrienne Dahood Fritz, 40 and her husband Andrew Fritz, 40, moved from Texas to California in April and took the trip to Santa Cruz Island in order to see the marine wildlife  there.  Adrienne worked for the Ocean Protection Council as senior environmental scientist.  She led efforts to manage California’s network of marine protected areas and cared deeply about the ocean and biodiversity.  She embodied marine conservation and was a highly accomplished and respected scientist.

Vaidehi Campbell, 41, worked for the Soquel Creek Water District, a local non-profit government agency.  She brought immense joy to work every day and was a dear friend to all with her infections smile, kind heart, vast knowledge and adventurous spirit.  She was called “Water Princess” and seized every opportunity to live life to its fullest.

Yuko Hatano, 39, from San Jose was a graduate of Washington University.  She worked as a Servo Design/Integration Engineer for Hitachi, GST, for two and a half years and then as a Servo Engineer for Western Digital for nearly ten years.

Julia Pekka Ahopelto, 50, from Sunnyvale, CA, was also on the ill-fated trip.  There was no personal information available.  Her photo is all we have to remember her by.

They died as they lived, on an adventure and full of spirit and energy.  May they be remembered as resounding echoes of joy and enthusiasm for life.