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John J. Freidhoff, lead boat captain and field station manager for Buffalo State College’s Great Lakes Center for Environmental Research and Education, died Friday while scuba diving in Lake Ontario near Brockport.

Freidhoff, 46, of Angola, was pulled from the bottom of the lake about 1 p.m. and taken to Lakeside Hospital in Brockport, where he died, Monroe County sheriff’s spokesman John Helfer told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Freidhoff, a Coast Guard reservist who was scuba diving with colleague Caleb P. Basiliko, was found with his mask off. The two men were attempting to retrieve sensing equipment used for research by Brockport State College’s Department of Environmental Science and Biology, according to Buffalo State officials.

Rochester media reports indicated the equipment was lost when a cable snapped two weeks ago in lake waters about 100 feet deep.

Freidhoff, who was affectionately known as “Capt. John,” was a certified scuba diver and a licensed boat captain. In 2004 he was nominated as Coast Guard Junior Officer of the Year “for his outstanding performance of duty.”

“He will be remembered for his dedication to improving the environment and for helping to make the Great Lakes Center an important resource for not just Buffalo State College but also for the Western New York/Southern Ontario region,” according to a statement by Phyllis Camesano, public relations director at Buffalo State.

“Buffalo State College extends its deepest condolences to Capt. John’s family and friends throughout the community.”

A native of Cambria County, Pa., Freidhoff was a 1986 graduate of Gannon University in Erie, Pa.

Besides his work at Buffalo State College, the father and husband was active in the Angola community as a volunteer for the Lake Erie Beach Fire Department, a Cub Scout leader, softball coach and church youth leader.

(The Buffalo News)