The dive industry mourns the loss of Steve Blumenthal (CD 37817) who passed away suddenly on December 14, 2006. He was 41 years old and is survived by his wife Maem and two young sons, Kevin and Robby.
As the news of his untimely death spread it shocked and dismayed not only the diving community in Pattaya, Thailand, where Steve ran Mermaids CDC center, but PADI divers and professionals worldwide.
“Stephen was a highly experienced and skilled diving educator who was deeply respected by his peers on both a professional and personal level. We mourn his loss”.
Steve, a New Yorker, certified as an open water diver in Brooklyn in 1987. The following year at the age of 23 he became an Open Water Scuba Instructor and in 1991, became one of PADI’s youngest Course Directors at the age of 25.
He worked as an instructor for Bill Burbridge’s Seafari Diving Center in Pattaya before becoming a director/shareholder in Mermaids Dive Centre. In the early ‘90s Steve teamed up with Cesare Bennelli, of Samui International Divers, to jointly run PADI Instructor Development Courses in Pattaya and Samui.
Steve personally trained 1,600 instructors from all over the world. One of his proudest professional achievements was to train Rachain Malaivongse to become Thailand’s first-ever PADI Instructor. Rachain then went on to become the country’s first Thai Course Director.
Steve also conducted the first PADI IDC in Vietnam working with former student, Jeremy Stein, now a Course Director who runs Rainbow Divers in Nha Trang.
One of the secrets of Steve’s success was that he was an innovator, he strived to introduce something new for divers every year.
A devoted family man, Steve spent every spare minute with his two sons. He was a hugely popular, larger-than-life character who never took a day off due to illness which made his sudden death all the more of a shock. Over 500 mourners from all walks of life attended a two-day Thai funeral ceremony which was followed by a Jewish burial ceremony in Bangkok.
