James "Jim" Calvin Bio - Written by His Wife Marcia Pease
James "Jim" Calvin was born in 1952 in Eustis, Florida. The son of an elementary principal, he truly believed that he could convince his first-grade teacher to let him slide because of this connection, but was astounded when his dad held him back. Jim, as his close ones called him, was the youngest of five kids and had an independent spirit that often led to adventures that made you say, "You can't make that up."
His love of the ocean was born as a youngster on fishing trips out of Daytona Beach with his dad. At the age of 16, against his parents' wishes, he became certified. He graduated from Eustis High in 1971 and attended USF for a semester before enlisting in the Navy. It takes a certain personality to qualify for submarine service, and Jim fit the term "quirky" to a tee. He served on the USS Spadefish 668 for four years as a torpedoman, diver, and photographer. On a stop in Puerto Rico, he and another sailor gathered enough lobsters to feed the entire sub.
Following the Navy, he returned to college and worked as a mate on a fishing boat. He became a dive instructor in the 70s, bought out the shop owner in the 80s, and worked as sole proprietor of Underwater Adventures in Leesburg until his passing in 2021. He loved teaching SCUBA and sharing the underwater world with his students. He was patient with all students, wanting only for them to succeed. Having been bullied as a kid, he was kind to all and always slow to anger.
He was especially protective of females who wanted to dive. In a testosterone-heavy sport like diving in the 80s and 90s, Jim made sure females felt welcome in his shop and classes. I became his student in 1982, and we quickly formed a connection. We were together for 38 years, sharing a home, travel, laughs, and lots of cats and dogs along the way. During our time together, he never once raised his voice to me.
