A Ponte Vedra man died this week in a tragic diving accident near a shipwreck off Mayport, authorities said.
Nick Fox, 22, who was due to graduate with a business degree from the University of North Florida in May, passed away on Monday.
According to the Coast Guard, a distress call came from the area of the Casablanca deepwater wreck roughly 30 miles off of Mayport.
The agency sent a boat to the scene along with a helicopter from Savannah, but Fox was declared dead after being transferred to land just after noon.
“Though his life was taken too soon, Nicholas’s legacy lives on in the hearts of all who knew him,” read an obituary. “His laughter, kindness, and zeal for life will forever be remembered.”
A member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, Fox graduated from Fletcher High School in 2021 before attending UNF.
“Nicholas treasured family time,” the obituary said. “Whether that time came in the form of fishing trips, family vacations, relaxing on the beach or making memories at home, his family will forever remember the warmth he brought to every occasion.”
Fox excelled in a variety of sports, including baseball, football and tennis.
He grew up in a boating family and had a deep affinity for the ocean.
“As he grew older, his passion for the water deepened, and he became an avid diver and spear-fisher often boasting with a smile that his skills had surpassed those of his father’s,” the obituary stated.
A memorial service will be held at Christ Episcopal Church in Ponte Vedra on December 3, 2024, at 3:00 PM, followed by a celebration of life at the family’s home from 4:30-8:30 PM.
“In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Nicholas’s honor to a charity supporting dive safety,” Fox’s kin wrote.
