The Dark-haired Boy

Who Is Legare R. Hole, III

by Terrence N. Tysall

I am quite sure that many of you are wondering who is Legare R. Hole, III, and why does he have a scholarship named after him? Is he just some old rich guy who gave a lot of money to the Cambrian Foundation?

Well first let me applaud you for even taking the time to learn more about this incredible individual, and let me promise you that even just getting to know who he is from this article may change your life, maybe not as much as he changed the lives of those of us that know him personally, but you will be affected.

I will start when I met him when I was 6 years old. It's funny how looking back at the first part of my life, it always seems to be in black and white and then when I met Lee (as I always called him, I was Terry then) everything somehow changed to color. Life just became more fun. It is easy to see in hindsight why Lee and I were drawn to the sea and all things water related, as we grew up surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay. Throughout our entire young lives we were forever coming home covered in stinky muck and smelling of marsh or swamp, yet far richer in experience and appreciation for the incredible planet that we lived on, than when we had left that morning. Now there are houses and condos where we once played and explored, and I wonder where I will take my son someday to introduce him to the sea. The two of us drifted though life sharing adventures as young men sometimes do, until one cold winter’s morning when I and the third member of our group John Stopper (yes that’s his real name) introduced him to Scuba diving in one of Florida’s incredible freshwater springs. His life - like mine - would never be the same again. If I knew how things would turn out, would that day happen any differently? I might change things, but I know Lee would just turn to me and smile saying that he wouldn’t have it any other way. Diving and the sea just meant that much to him.

I am sure by now that you have gathered that Lee is no longer with us, as least physically. The passion that he held for diving and exploration led him out far ahead of us as was always typical of him, and not long after his thirtieth birthday, he was killed exploring an underwater cave near his home in the Tampa Bay area. In a poor attempt to honor him, I set up a rescue/recovery fund that was used to assist teams in recovery efforts of divers lost in caves, but somehow this just fell short. Like many, I fell into the trap of remembering how Lee died, when what I should have been honoring was how this incredible person had lived.

A few years ago I approached Lee’s family about turning the rescue/recovery fund into something more positive, a scholarship to assist young people in studying the waters of this awesome planet. Patty (Lee’s Mom) seemed thrilled with the idea and the Legare R. Hole, III, Memorial Scholarship was born.

Be sure to look into the faces of the winners on the scholarship page and realize these are not just gifted academics or people lucky enough to have been randomly picked. These are individuals that personify all of the qualities that make Lee special - courage, brains, insatiable desire to learn, and a burning passion to explore and protect the aquatic realm of this planet.

If you want to know a bit more, click this link and see what else he meant to those of us who knew him. Link to The Dark-haired Boy