It was a packed Cayman Islands Baptist Church, Grand Cayman, where a Service of Thanksgiving took place to honour the life of Capt. Roberto [Bob] Mark Bodden Soto, MBE last Saturday March 21st.

Officiating Ministers were Pastor Randy Von Kanel and Pastor Mike Irby. Pianist was Nickolas DaCosta

Prior to the service there was a video presentation of photographs that told Mr. Soto’s colourful and packed life. His enduring and warm smile was present in nearly all.

The Cayman Islands Veterans formed an Honour Guard and Shane Bothwell from the veterans also gave one of the many tributes to this great man.

Other tributes included MLA Joseph Hew (Ministry of Tourism), Ron Kipp (Diving), his children and wife Suzy.

James Bergstrom and Sheree Ebanks read Mr Soto’s Life Story that we have published in its entirety below:

The Life Story of Captain Roberto Mark Bodden Sotto, M.B.E.

Robert was born August 251h,1926 on the Isle of Pines, Cuba to Daisy Bodden Driggers, from Bodden Town, Grand Cayman and Marcos Ramiro Soto Pantoja, from Cuba. Daisy, a strong Cayman woman, left home to find work in Cuba. She went to Gerona, the Isle of Pines returning to Cayman in 1928 raising her three sons, Haldene, Rene and Robert. She moved back with her parents, Allan Sherrer Bodden, in their family home, which was located across from the Lobster Pot.

This is Bobs story, as he tells it straight from the heart and it will warm your very soul.

“In the early days, there was no money on the island. Very little work was available and my two brothers they couldn’t get work. My brother Rene and I were quite young. It wound up that my brother Haldene had to go to work on the lobster boats. He had a job on the Hustler and he used to go out for months at a time fishing running to Panama. He was our bread winner and when Rene turned
16 he got a job on the same vessel.

In October 1940,the Hustler and another boat from East End, the Radian, were sailing out of Colon, Panama. The Hustler was coming home and the two captains were talking about the weather deteriorating. Captain Conolly said to Captain Lorie that he believed a hurricane was making down, but the Captain of the Hustler believed it was just local dirty weather that would pass. Captain Conolly said he was returning to Panama and Captain Lorie said he was returning to Grand Cayman. The Hustler got caught in a Hurricane and it was lost with 13 people-12 adults and one child. What a sad day that was with, all the families mourning for years. People talk about closure; I don’t believe there is any closure for me.

I was very close to my brothers and have always had a fascination with the sea. I always thought about them when I am on the water, I often wondered if I would go the same way. I felt they were cheated out of their manhood,16 and 22; the older was just beginning to learn a little bit about life. I wonder how different my life would be, if they had not died. In a way it may have made me stronger. When they passed away I had to take over at 14, to take care of my Mother and my younger sister, while going to school. My path from then on was forever linked to the sea. World War II came along and in 1942,I went into the Home Guard when I was 16 years old. I told them I was 18,Iwas quite a pretty tall fellow for my age and they accepted that and I got inducted.

I got assigned to Jamaica about 6 months later for further training in the infantry and an artillery course. I was very homesick over there, 17 yrs. old. I came back to Grand Cayman after serving in Jamaica at Up Park Camp. After my training in Jamaica, I became a corporal and was in charge of many of the outlying posts around the Island. I had some 25 and 30 year old men under my command. On November 9, 2014 the Veterans Memorial Day Remembrance ceremony was held. As he was the youngest member of the Home Guard he was able to organize the men for recognition and placement of the names on the monument at Elmslie Memorial Church in central George Town. “World War II finally came to an end and I was glad! Several friends got killed in the war and I wanted to get away from the island. I go t a job on a Navy Salvage tug, as a fireman on the S.S. Worbler. and that is where I first started getting interested in diving. It was hard hat diving and we did salvage work. We would take ships that had run aground, pull them off, fix their bottom and tow them in if necessary.

It was very hard getting around in the States in those days unless you were in the service. I had on a Merchant Marine uniform and that gave you priority to travel. I was able to get on a bus in Jacksonville to head off to New Orleans. I got down to New Orleans and got a job on a ship going to Havana and Santiago, which was operated by the Standard Fruit Company. After a couple of trips I decided to move on as I wanted to see Europe. I got a job as a fireman on a 10,000 ton Liberty ship loaded up with Marshall Plan relief goods for Europe. I went to London first and I saw what the situation was like. Everything was flat, a lot of buildings were destroyed, people were scattered all over the place. On our return, we would bring back the remains of the servicemen who were killed in Europe. That was a very sad thing.

In 1948 I got a job with United Fruit Company, the most beautiful ships in the world called the great white fleet. I worked there for 2 years. We used to run between N. Y., Panama and Honduras. We would go through the Panama Canal every couple of weeks. During this time with the “Great white fleet” we were on a ship called the S.S, Junior and there was a Coast Guard Cutter named the Eastwind. On 19 January 1949 she collided with the tanker Gulfstream about 90 miles off New Jersey, killing 13 crewmen and severely damaging the cutter. Our ship went to the rescue. The injured were transported by life boat to our ship and we carried them to New York. After it was over, the Captain received a letter of congratulations from President Truman for going to the rescue of the Coast Guard ship. We were very proud to assist the Coast Guard. I went on to work on American Ships from 1945 to 1950 and made some pretty good money sending the savings home to my mother. The work on American ships came to an end in 1950 and it was tough finding a job” Bob worked toward his engineering certification which gave him the opportunities to eventually become first engineer. “I finally got a job on the Gulf Gem in Boston as a junior engineer on an oil Tanker. She was an old ship built in World War II and she was in terrible condition. I decided to get off this ship before a disaster struck. I quit the ship in Boston and went back to New York.

The ship left to go back to Texas and she never arrived, she disappeared, she was lost with all hands on board. God must have been steering me away from that ship and saved my life. Latter on I came home and was talking to Jim Bodden about it and he had been on the same ship he had quit it as well.

After this I got a job as an engineer with National Bulk Carriers, who were taking men from Cayman. They flew me out to Japan to pick up a ship in 1950. I did that for several years, going to the Persian Gulf, hauling oil to San Diego. I got tired of sailing and wondering around the world from 16 years old to 31years old! It was enough!” Bob worked for over 12 years in the engine rooms and as a result of the asbestos dust exposure lost 60% of his lung capacity in his later years. “It was time for me to return to Cayman, the only home that I knew. I had worked on a Navy salvage tug in 1945 and learned something about diving. I decided to start the first Scuba Diving Business in the Caribbean. When I was at sea and sent money home to my Mother, she oversaw the building of a concrete duplex for me across from where the Lobster Pot now stands. I then built a dive shop across the street on family land in 1958 on the beach at White Hall, later adding the Lobster Pot on the second floor.

I got married in 1956 to Elita Bodden and later had 3 wonderful sons, Rene, Danny, and Randy. My good friend Burns Rutty’s family owned the Pageant Beach and we formed a partnership to deal with water sports, diving, fishing, snorkeling and anything we could do to make a living. Burns managed the hotel and would make bookings. Money was very tight in those days. Burns did an excellent job. We borrowed 700 pounds from Barclays Bank, and bought a boat kit from Chris Craft, a 19-foot cabin cruiser; believe it or not, she had a little cabin and a toilet. We built it and assembled it under the almond trees by Pageant Beach. I started teaching people to dive. I’d go to the Hotels trying to solicit business and the Hoteliers would say, “Oh no you are not going to take our guests out and drown them”. I would take the people out on the reef and it would blow their mind to see all the beautiful underwater wonders. We would dive the shallow reefs off of George Town, and it was such a fulfilling experience to see these peoples’ reactions after looking in the water and seeing just what we had here.

The Business was growing fast and I had to recruit additional help. I hired my friend Kern Jackson, who had a background as an engineer and diesel mechanic, which I badly needed. Kern turned out to be my right hand man. He learned to dive; he became a dive master and instructor. Kern is a man of many talents (even magic) and we became and still are like brothers.” Along the way many young men joined Bob calling them his “other sons”. These included Clinton Ebanks, Adrian Briggs, Atlee Bodden, Peter Milburn, Olin Miller, Atlee and Peter Evans and Don Foster. There was a great deal of spear fishing. Bob quickly realized that it was destroying the very things that were in the water for all to enjoy. He started conservation by firstly inhibiting anyone from spear fishing off of their dive boats and encouraged picture taking instead. He was awarded the first conservation honor in the Cayman Islands.

Bob Soto was also the man to call whenever anyone was lost at sea; along with his three sons and staff they would set off for the rescue. Happily, these were successful rescues. “Jack McKenny from California was an avid diver who dove with me for many years. He became editor of Skin Diver Magazine, the worlds leading publication on diving. We became close friends with him, his wife Pat, daughter Kim and his son, John. We received great publicity and were recognized by divers the world over as the leading dive company in the world. It was an amazing and rewarding 25 years of my life”

“I bought a 60′ trawler in Charleston and converted her to take 8 people. I operated her for several years taking divers to Cayman Brae, Little Cayman, Roatan, Honduras and other Caribbean areas . This was the first live aboard dive boat and the name was The Cayman Pilot. Next I got an 80-foot Coast Guard Cutter and I bought her in Alabama from the Steiner shipyard. I had her fixed up as a live aboard, sleeping 14 people. I brought her back to Cayman operated her for many years. This boat was called the Cayman Diver. By this time, We were so busy ashore I decided to stay home and look after my business. Paul Human, a lawyer from Wichita Kansas, bought and operated it for years”.

“My three sons would come out of school and work with me in the shops, they were wonderful boys, filling tanks and running the boats. Now I realize it was very good for them, helped keep them out of trouble working with me. It gave them a lot of experience in business, engines, boats and handling boats. I remember northwesters and I had to get 2 or 3 boats to move and they were just little kids and could hardly see over the wheel and they would jump in and run these 40 foot boats inside the reefs in South Sound and anchor them down, they were great kids and very helpful”.

Bob then started the “Bob Soto Dive Lodge” located in East end. It had 14 rooms and manager’s residence. This he operated until a subsequent sale. Bob married Suzanne Bergstrom in 1981. “My wife, the love of my life, Suzanne Soto had a hotel on the Eastern End of the island and I just fell in love with this beautiful blond woman with 5 children; three girls and two boys.” Bob had started treasure diving in the mid 1960’s. His sister, Gaye was married to professional treasure hunter, Art McKee. They shared a few expeditions, however Bob was able to devote more time to his treasure hunting hobby some twenty years later when Bob, Kern and
a young owner of the Holiday Inn, Herbo Humphreys, started in earnest.

“I used to take Herbo out in the summer time when business was slow on my treasure hunting boat, the Sea Hunt. We would go out searching the Caribbean reefs looking for wrecks and we found a very interesting wreck off of Jamaica. I lost possession of my boat, so Captain Herbo bought a boat to do the treasure hunting as he had big case of treasure fever! He named it the R.V. Beacon. The R.V. Beacon departed on December 4th, 1983 for the site. On board for crew was myself, Kern, Herbo along with Captain “Cappy” Henning, the Beacon’s Navigator at the wheel. We arrived at our destination on Dec. 9th. The next morning Kern Jackson and myself were out in the glass bottom boat. The sensing probe was lowered into the water and we began “magging” in a pattern. Kern and I were working for 4 hours, were getting discouraged, when there was big “hit”. I peered through the glass bottom boat and viewed a coral reef 30 feet below and saw a shape I knew was not a part of the reef. Kern stopped the engine and they tossed the anchor over, I slipped into my gear and fell backwards into the water. I saw a large coral encrusted cannon, then another one, and then an intact clay olive jar. I surfaced and shouted, “We have found our wreck”!!! Captain Herbo was already in the water and we found 45 cannons, two anchors, hundreds of clay olive jars embedded in the reef on the first day! The shipwreck was identified as the HMS Thunderer. We returned several times in 1984,recovering artifacts. One of the most exciting treasure recoveries for me was being a part of the rediscovery of the Maravillas. History is full of the adventures of this ship, which tragically ended 650 lives, leaving only 45 survivors” Over the course of five years the search continued eventually yielding gold bars, jewelry, artifacts and pieces of eight. Thankfully there were some valuable finds, however treasure fever is dangerous. If you do succeed in finding treasure and break even, you have been successful.

On Sunday, April 3’d 1988 Suzy and Bob set off in their 37-foot Schucker sloop with their precious dog, Rambo. They sailed around the Caribbean for a year and a half, an adventure that could fill a book. They returned home due to business demands. Shortly thereafter, they purchased their 48′ motor yacht, where they resided with Rambo for over five years. The loss of Haldene and Rene haunted Bob for many years. Bob and Suzy decided a monument should be dedicated to the men, women and children who lost their lives under horrifying circumstances at sea. They recruited their daughter-in-law, Leslie Bergstrom. The three worked tirelessly for four years and the monument was dedicated by Prince Edward during the 2003 quincentennial celebrations. There are four granite plaques containing the names of all the deceased. Each year wreathes are laid by their descendants. People from all over the world are impressed with the monument ”Tradition”, a maritime memorial.

In 2013 Bob was devastated at the loss of grandson, Zak Quappe. Zak was very close to Poppie who stayed with them many times and shared a love of engineering.

“I am up in years now, thank God I am here, very happy, we have been married over 34 years. I have three great sons, five wonderful stepchildren that are like my own children to me and I love them all. We have 19 grandchildren and I am their Opa, Dampa or Poppy, and now we have 5 3/4- great-grandchildren. My how this family has grown. Christmas eve we have the most wonderful time when we have them all over to our house and I am the cook for the Cayman Beef. I cooked 25 lbs. of Cayman Beef and it is so good”.

Bob and Suzy were baptized by Pastor Randy Von Kanel in 2006 and have been loyal members of the Cayman Islands Baptist Church. By God’s grace, on Monday, March 16th, Bob was able to carry on his normal activities, having lunch with son Randy.

In the early morning of March 17th Bob fell ill and was carried by ambulance to the George Town hospital where he passed Tuesday afternoon surrounded by his loved ones. Our family would like to thank his attending physicians: Dr. McField, Dr. Mathew, Dr. Smith, Dr. Windhaber, Dr. Banks, Dr. Ulett-lvey and the staff of the George Town Hospital and deep appreciation to Drs. Addleson, Baraha, Christian, Shillingford and Dr. Adedayo. We would also like to thank Lizzette Yearwood and Dr. Delroy Jefferson for all of their assistance.

He will be greatly missed by his “soul-mate” Suzy, sons Rene, Danny ,Randy, Kris, Jim, daughters Sheree, Karie, Barrie, grandchildren: Diana, Mark, Jonathan, Danielle, Ashley, Amanda, Erica, Melanie, Kristie, Bobbie, Lani, Teri, Briana, Kody, Matthew, Jay, Sarah, and Lucy. Great grandchildren: Kaitlyn, Jim, Ciara, Nora and Camden and another on the way! Sons-in-Law: Davy and Chuck, Daughters­ in-Law Kerry, Sherrlyn, Debi and Leslie. Special grandson, Shane Bothwell who is also a veteran and was very close to Bob as well as his wife and four daughters who he loved very much.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Haldene and Rene, and his grandson, Zak. Bob had many lifelong and newfound friends, some who have passed on before and he leaves a host of relatives and friends who will cherish the memory of this amazing Caymanian hero.

FROM Service of Thanksgiving programme for the Life of Capt. Roberto Mark Bodden Soto, MBE.

The hymns and music sung and played at the service included:
Merchant Marines Instrumental
National Song: Beloved Isle Cayman
Abide With Me
Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy
Amazing Grace
Eternal Father
Captain Paul Hurlstone gave the Seafarer’s farewell with customary 8 Bells.

After the Thanksgiving the Internment Service was executed at The Dixie Cemetery, George Town.

Bob Soto August 25 1926 – March 17 2015 RIP
Missed but will never be forgotten.