Claud Evans Hull

Claud Hull, 86, of Morehead City, passed away on Saturday, February 26, 2022, at Kitty Askins Hospice Center of Goldsboro.

The family will hold a private service.

Claud was born on February 20, 1936, in Little Washington and then went on to live an extraordinarily full and interesting life.  Raised in Wendell, NC, on a tobacco farm, Claud graduated from North Carolina State College with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering with an Aeronautical option.  He subsequently worked at Cherry Point Naval Aviation Depot as an engineer for his entire career, where he received many awards, including a Cost Reduction Award presented to him personally by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson.

Claud had a genuine love for the water, and especially for scuba diving.  He served as President of the NC Skin Diving Council and held other offices for many years.  He excelled in freediving (breath holding with no scuba gear) and dove to a depth of approximately 85 feet during skin diving competitions. At a National Spearfishing Championship in the 1960’s, he ranked 9th in the nation in Freediving / Spearfishing.

Claud was the very first scuba diver in the Morehead City area of eastern North Carolina.  He shared his love of diving and taught many other young divers how to dive. Further, Claud was the first offshore diver in NC, having to convince a local party boat captain to take a group of divers offshore.  Additionally, he was the first diver on the offshore wreck the Papoose.  That adventure opened up offshore, deep water diving in North Carolina. He enjoyed underwater photography and built his own underwater housing for his camera.  He took the first underwater photograph of a sand tiger shark in NC.

Archaeological research was a favorite pursuit by Claud.  He discovered the location of the U-352 World War II submarine that was sunk off the coast of NC.  He gave the coordinates to his longtime friend George Purifoy who owned a local dive shop. When Loran C sonar became available, George used Claud’s coordinates and, extraordinarily, after reaching the area offshore, discovered the sunken vessel after making his first grid turn. That wreck later became a favorite dive spot on the NC coast for decades.

Based on his extensive research of colonial area history, Claud determined the location of the El Salvador, which sank in 1750, carrying gold, silver, and emeralds.  Soon after receiving a permit from the state to locate and retrieve it, he became gravely ill and was unable to complete that task.  He “took the location to the grave.”

Claud had a great love for music and was a gifted musician, having worked his way through college playing big band and small combo groups on the weekends.  He played saxophone and clarinet. His love of music continued throughout his life.  He played with the Southernaires and Encore in Carteret County.

Claud was also a gifted Bible teacher.  In his church, First Baptist, he taught for over 20 years.  Also, over the course of time, he served on most every committee at First Baptist, and was the head of several, including Chairman of the Deacons. For a period of his life, he served a need as a lay preacher in small Baptist churches around the county.  Over the years, he sang in the choir and the mens’ quartet and other small groups at his church.

Claud pursued his interests passionately, including shrimping.  He built his own shrimp net and put both of his daughters through college and one through graduate school by shrimping on the weekends. On one noteworthy and exciting stormy night, he actually caught 846 pounds of shrimp. (Trying again the next night, he caught over 500 pounds until his anchor line broke).

Sometimes the small accolades are the most noteworthy in a person’s life.  In high school, Claud was recognized by his math teacher as having received the highest math grades given by that teacher in 40 years.

Claud loved his family very much. He is survived by two daughters, four grandchildren, and a sister.
He was preceded in death by his wife and two brothers.

Arrangements are made by Munden Funeral Home of Morehead City.

Memorial donations may be made to Leon Mann Jr. Enrichment Center, 3820 Galantis Drive, Morehead City, NC 28557.