Pamela "Pam" Sue Balash-Webber (1953-2020) [1] was an American diving instructor and ocean conservationist. [2] [3]
She was born in Albion, Michigan, and lived most her life on Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. She had a sister. [1]
Balash-Webber worked for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) organization for many years, and became a district course director in 1989. She was one of the first two American women to teach recreational diving in Russia. [2] With her husband, Andre, she owned and ran a diving club on Saint Thomas. They worked together to have moorings installed at dive sites in the United States Virgin Islands to protect the reefs from damage. [2] [3]
Andre died in 2014, 54 years old. [4] Pamela died in late 2020, after having fought with scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis for several years. They share an underwater memorial at Andres reef, near Buck Island. [1] [2]
In 2022, she was one of five women to be inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame. [5]
Pamela "Pam" Sue Balash-Webber (1953-2020) [1] was an American diving instructor and ocean conservationist. [2] [3]
She was born in Albion, Michigan, and lived most her life on Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. She had a sister. [1]
Balash-Webber worked for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) organization for many years, and became a district course director in 1989. She was one of the first two American women to teach recreational diving in Russia. [2] With her husband, Andre, she owned and ran a diving club on Saint Thomas. They worked together to have moorings installed at dive sites in the United States Virgin Islands to protect the reefs from damage. [2] [3]
Andre died in 2014, 54 years old. [4] Pamela died in late 2020, after having fought with scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis for several years. They share an underwater memorial at Andres reef, near Buck Island. [1] [2]
In 2022, she was one of five women to be inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame. [5]