‘One in a million’: Myrtle Beach community mourns local fisherman after his drowning
If you spend a few minutes walking around Myrtle Beach local Adam Oppedisano’s house, you’ll notice several things.
There’s a garden filled with plants next to the house, several jars that contain shells from across the East Coast and a homemade pond partially created with cypress driftwood.
At first glance, these things may seem like a random assortment of items. But for Oppedisano, they now carry memories of a dear friend who impacted many lives in the Myrtle Beach community.
Al Almarzouqi, more commonly known as “Mo” to friends and family, passed away on June 19 after apparently drowning in the ocean. He was 54.
On the day Almarzouqi passed, the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office reported that crews had responded to the area of the jetties in Murrells Inlet due to reports of a missing swimmer. A body had been pulled from the water, the post said.
That person was later identified as Almarzouqi.
The Georgetown County coroner reported to another media outlet that Almarzouqi had tried to swim from a boat to the beach when he went under the water and never resurfaced.
For many people in the Myrtle Beach area community, the news was shocking and sudden. Dozens of people in the days after his passing took to social media to share their grief over losing a beloved person in the community.
“Blessed to have met Mo,” one person on Facebook shared. “He was someone you’d never forget.”
A week after Almarzouqi’s passing, many of his friends, including Oppedisano, are still processing. But for them, Almarzouqi’s legacy and memory will continue to live on through his love of the ocean and of people.
An explorer and educator
Oppedisano first met Almarzouqi when their families became friends while staying at a condo in Myrtle Beach.
He immediately found Almarzouqi interesting, Oppedisano said. Almarzouqi had a deep love of the ocean and often took people out on his boat to fish or just simply explore the coast.
His obituary described Almarzouqui as a fisherman, who split his time between Myrtle Beach and Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where he owned and operated several small businesses.
Shortly after Oppedisano’s first time meeting Almarzouqi, the two went to collect oysters in Murrells Inlet — something Oppedisano said he had never done before.
“I didn’t wear the right clothing, I didn’t wear the right shoes, I had no clue what I was doing,” Oppedisano said. “He educated me on everything … he just knew where to go and how to do it.”
Multiple of Almarzouqi’s friends described him as an educator — someone who could tell you whatever you wanted to know about South Carolina’s coast.
Oppedisano wasn’t the only person in his family who had developed a close friendship with Almarzouqi. His mother, Jan Monnone, often spent time with Almarzouqi, collecting shells during their walks on South Carolina beaches.
Almarzouqi always made the people around him feel comfortable no matter who you are, Monnone said.
“He was just the kind of down to earth person that you could talk to (or) ask anything of,” Mannone said. “You didn’t have to be pretentious around him.”
A desire to help people
A key part of Almarzouqi’s character was his willingness to lend a hand to anyone around him, multiple of his friends said.
Kelsey Hughes has lived in the Myrtle Beach area for the past five years. When she first moved here from Virginia, she had been going through a difficult time, she said.
She then met Almarzouqi through her mom who had known him for years. What came after was several trips on Almarzouqi’s boat with her family, where he always made her feel comfortable, she said.
One time, she remembered, they were on the boat when he saw someone who was stranded. Almarzouqi immediately offered to help and towed the person’s boat back to the docks, Hughes said.
“It wasn’t for any other reason than him just wanting to help people,” Hughes said. “That’s why people fell in love with him because it wasn’t like you owed him or like you were burdening him. He was happy to help.”
That kindness didn’t just extend to people who were in trouble, however.
Mannone recently had friends who were having surgery in Virginia. She really wanted to go up and see them, so Almarzouqi offered to drive, she said. On the way back, the two took a detour and stopped along different parts of the East Coast where they gathered shells and saw wild horses.
Almarzouqi later took the shells he and Mannone had gathered and decorated a mirror and wooden mermaid with them to give back to her.
“Everybody that comes in is like, ‘Oh, I want that, I want that.’ I won’t give it to anybody,” Mannone said. “Those are two things I will always treasure. They’re beautiful. He made them. He loved doing stuff like that.”
Carrying on his legacy
The items around Oppedisano’s house aren’t just memories he’s collected of Almarzouqi. They’re also gifts.
In the garden beside his house sits several gourd plants. The gourds were actually Almarzouqi’s idea. He wanted to make birdhouses out of them and had asked Oppedisano to plant the seeds.
The first attempt failed. But Oppedisano and Mannone decided to try again, they said.
“This year I went out and bought new soil, and I have a gourd garden now,” Oppedisano said. “That was for him.”
When the plants are ready, Oppedisano and Mannone said they plan on making the birdhouses. Their hope is to give them to any of Almarzouqi’s friends in honor of him.
Hughes has other ways of carrying on Almarzouqi’s memory. Since he passed, she’s eager to tell as many people about him as she can.
The more the message gets across about what kind of human being he was, the more people may try and emulate those parts of him, she said.
“He was one in a million,” Hughes said.
