An event will be held Sunday in Jupiter to commemorate a former Palm Beach resident who died in a spearfishing accident last Mother’s Day.
A Memorial Paddle Out for Virgil M. Price III celebrates the life of the renowned free diver who went missing May 12 while exploring a World War II shipwreck off the coast of Jensen Beach.
U.S. Coast Guard officials launched a search for the West Palm Beach resident but suspended it the following evening. According to TCPalm.com, the agency reported a search of more than 1,400 miles and 36 hours. His body has not been recovered.
Price, a graduate of the Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, was an experienced freediver and instructor at Florida Freedivers, a sporting goods store in North Palm Beach, his family said. From an early age, he was drawn to music, wildlife and the ocean, and he also played numerous instruments, including piano, bass guitar and mandolin, his family said.
Kate Cerasaro, Price’s mother, said her son was an avid outdoorsman and a “renaissance man” who went alligator hunting, collected World War II and Civil War artifacts, played in a band, made homemade alligator stew and taught surfing, scuba diving and spearfishing.
“He took all these kids – he called them his ‘Lost Boys’ – and they went to Munyon Island and built bonfires and cooked, things people don’t do anymore,” she said. “I said to someone, if anyone thinks Virgil is going to grow up and put on a blue blazer and be a preppy Palm Beacher, that’s never going to happen. Someone’s going to have to fall in love with someone who lives in board shorts and loves animals.”
Sunday’s event will give participants a chance to share stories and celebrate Price’s life, said his sister, Brit Drozda.
Price would have turned 40 on Saturday.
“Virgil’s lighthearted spirit touched so many lives,” Drozda said. “If you happen to cross his path, we would love to have you join us to share this day with us.”
Participants will gather at the Anita Lenkler Pavilion at Ocean Cay Park, 2188 Marcinski Road, beginning at 11 a.m. A paddle out led by William Kimball of Bluewater Surfing is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Participants must bring their own plates. Those who don’t want to paddle are encouraged to celebrate Price’s life with flowers on the pier, Drozda said.
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Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Late free diver Virgil Price will be remembered in Jupiter on Sunday
