Service set for NY dentist who died after UK WWII wreck dive

KINGSTON, N.Y. – A memorial service is set for a New York dentist who died after scuba diving on a World War II airplane wreck in the English Channel.

According to his obituary in the Kingston Daily Freeman, Dr. Bruce Hottum’s service will be held Saturday afternoon at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock.

United Kingdom authorities say the 63-year-old partner in a Kingston dental practice was stricken July 21 after exploring a WWII wreck site off England’s southeast coast. He was brought to shore, where he died at a hospital in Ramsgate. A cause of death hasn’t been released by UK officials.

Hottum was a volunteer member of The BentProp Project, a California-based non-profit group that searches for Americans still missing from WWII.

Hottum, who lived near Kingston, is survived by his father, wife and three adult sons.