Gordon Smith

[bgpartri]

This from Kim Smith:

It is with much grief that I write this letter. Gordon Smith, President of Jetsam Technologies Ltd. has passed away. He died suddenly on Monday, January 9th of an illness. It was unexpected. This was in no way a diving related death or accident.

At this time, the staff at Jetsam Technologies, the executer of his estate and I will be evaluating the business. At this point, no decision has been made with regards to Jetsam.

During this evaluation period, the business will be open and staff will be there to answer any technical questions or help with any repairs. As this is an extremely difficult time for us, I ask that you please respect our privacy with regards to Gordon's death.

Kim Smith


Kim Smith
2817 Murray Street
Port Moody, BC
V3H 1X3 Canada

Phone: 1 604 469 9176
Fax: 1 604 469 9974
www.jetsam.ca
www.kissmanufacturing.com

[The Purist]

As echoed everywhere else throughout the diving community this is a terrible piece of news for anyone who had any dealings with Gordon or Jetsam, as well as a tragic loss for Kim.

I only knew Gordon through emails, but he was always a 100% stand up guy who would take you at your word and you knew you could take him at his. There are far too few people like that in the world, and combining that with his engineering exellence and good humour you ended up with one of the most respected people in the RB community.

A bad day for all of us.

Keith

[Evolve]

I logged on to Rebreatherworld this morning when I saw Kim's letter - my heart just sank.

I had the pleasure of meeting Gordon back in October. Gordon was a remarkable man; one with a passion for life and for diving. The rebreather community has lost one of the most respected men it has ever known.

My heart goes out to Kim and family and all at Jetsam.

Words fail me! It is a sad day indeed!

Sleep well Gordon

Vision
xxx

[Ken]

My deepest condolences to his family and the employees at Jetsam. His creations were outstanding and he will be missed by all who dive bubbleless, and those who have his unique products. Very sad.

[Craig]

I only had the privilege of talking to Gordon and Kim at last years dive show but they were so helpful.

My deepest condolences to Gordons friends and family.

[NotDeadYet]

This is such sad news, Gordon's legacy on the rebreather world has been massive. I only ever knew him by e-mail too but both he & Kim were a breath of fresh air.

Condolences.

[Janos]

Very sad news. I spoke with Gordon on the phone a fair bit, asking naive questions about the KISS and he was always happy to help.

He was a top engineer and the KISS is a great legacy that many people would be proud of. He was also a thoroughly nice bloke to boot.

Janos

[zepp]

Had a phone call from John Routley today who told me the the terrible news. I had a long conversation with Gordon at the dive show. He offered me loads of advice on my homebuild, even though I was not buying his products. He even told me that the Hydrogom CMF valve that I use is top quality. Most people would have knocked down someone elses product. A very genuine bloke....

[jknights]

Very sad news.
I never met him but have always heard great things about him. His death will mean that the rebreather world has less knowledge and advice available to the diving public in general.

I hope that Jetsam can manage to continue but his loss will not be easy to replace.
I guess this may effect the short term supply and support for their product as well.

[johnmaneely]

Sad news, had a good conversation with him at the show also. Great to meet such an innovative and talented engineer, who was really just an ordinary bloke with a vision. After much effort and investment it was brought to us all. Thanks Gordon you'll be missed.
John