Jasper Session

News Obituary Article

OBITUARY: COLLEGE PARK: Jasper Session, 65, dentist who coached kids in sport of diving

By KAY POWELL

Dr. Jasper Session was a diver long before he was a dentist and was deft at both.

He taught himself to dive by watching videos and reading how-to books and was determined to coach African-American children in the sport.

The highly acclaimed Surface Breakers springboard diving club he founded trained African-American children on a competitive level with teams from elite private schools --- even when his team did not have access to a pool and practiced in a parking lot.

Six of the students he coached were awarded college diving scholarships.

"That's what was extraordinary about him. He got African-American kids into the whole arena of swimming and diving. He opened eyes, then opened doors," said State Court Chief Judge Al Thompson of Atlanta.

The funeral for Dr. Jasper Leonard Session Jr., 65, of College Park, who died of congestive heart failure Sunday at South Fulton Medical Center, will be 1 p.m. Friday at Ben Hill United Methodist Church. Murray Bros. Cascade Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

The Atlanta native grew up swimming in public pools. By age 15 he was an American Red Cross-trained lifeguard, and three years later he was a diving instructor. He graduated from Fort Valley State University and Meharry Dental School. After a stint in the military, he opened a private practice in Atlanta in 1972.

He continued his education at Harvard University and the Medical College of Georgia. Though his practice was general dentistry, his work looked as if it had been performed by a specialist, said retired dentist Dr. W. Bruce Shropshire of Atlanta.

His patients were at the mercy of his humor. "Even though he tried to make jokes, he was not any good. But he was funny himself," said Atlanta Municipal Court Judge Howard Johnson.

"He would always be talking, and it was frustrating because he expected you to laugh or answer with his tools and fingers in your mouth."

When it came to recruiting and coaching competitive divers, Dr. Session used no end of resources. He lobbied the city to install diving boards at public pools. He reached into his own pockets to keep Surface Breakers going.

Dr. Session, who had coached diving at Morehouse College, loaded up his speedy 1984 Cadillac with the rebuilt engine and hauled his divers to practice or meets. He was an eccentric character identified by his glasses, brushy mustache and bullhorn voice.

When his divers switched his car radio from classical music to rap, he would complain, but soon would be bobbing his head in time, said Marietta attorney Monique Jones of East Point. One 90-degree summer, the high school gymnast saw Dr. Session's three-line ad recruiting divers and thought that would be cool summer fun.

"Right away, he told me to get up there and do a flip off the board," she said. "I said it would be different for me not to land on solid ground. He said, 'Just look for the water.' "

Several universities were interested in offering Ms. Jones a diving scholarship, but she chose Yale. After her parents, she said, Dr. Session was the major adult influence in her life, as he was to many on his dive team.

Wherever in the world he traveled, Dr. Session found a place to dive, said his wife, Cynthia Session. Strangers would watch him, then ask him to show them how to do the dive.

His favorite dive was at the Caesar's Palace pool in Las Vegas. While there, he competed in and won blackjack tournaments, she said.

He was known for his bouillabaisse, which he shared with only his best friends --- 50 or so at a time --- keeping his recipe a secret.

"If you had to fashion a friend," Judge Thompson said, "it would be Jasper Session."

Survivors other than his wife include two daughters, Cathy Y. Session of College Park and Cheryl M. Session of Fairburn; a son, Jason Leonard Session III of College Park; and a sister, Darleen Globin of Lithonia.

© 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution