an awesome friends amazing family..

[Kelly 0]

Friday morning I wake up at 3:30am.. in im the car by 4am picking up 2 friends.. an hour later were about 50 miles away, picked up another friend... 5 1/2 hours later we arrive in Pittsburg PA.
I cant even begin to describe the funeral services to you guys.. it was so unbelievebly touching. Chris' family was amazing. They spoke so kindly of his skydiving, his BASE Jumping, his scuba diving and his rock climbing... They memorialized his life thru pictures and video, and shared that with his friends and family. They went out of their way to embrace his skydiving family.. Even described our arrival (during the Eulogy) as "a miracle, a blessing. a sign from Chris himself" because we got lost and and called another jumper friend who was at the funeral home at the same moment his dad found a gaurdian angel with wings pennant and was pinning it to chris' suit. His dad spoke words of kindness and love for us and for the support our presence gave. During the eulogy his dad said that when he was pinning that pennant on chris' jacket and JP ran in saying "4 more skydivers are on their way! their 5 minutes away!" he knew in his heart that we were ment to show up at the last minute, that it was a HUGE display of love on our part.. He spoke that it was destined that our arrival would occur right at one of the hardest parts of this whole ordeal..THat we were ment to be there for his family when they needed it most..
They took us in for the final viewing.. the one where the immediate family ONLY is in the room, right before they close the casket and head for the church/cemetary. They wanted us, his skydiving family there, with them, to say our final goodbyes with them, his immediate family.
all the readings were about "being free. having wings. Flying thru the skies" The songs were also about flying free. They read a letter another skydiver wrote to them saying that she cant explain it, doesnt understand it herself, but skydiving does something for our soul that nothing else can.. that because of it skydivers become bonded and consider each other family.. They gave us their phone numbers and email addresses, took down our information and we made promises to each other to keep in contact.. They talked about a memorial jump and we told them we would organize it and also put together a video of chris skydiving, from various peoples footage. I will never forget the look in his dads eyes when he was crying and saying "you promise we can make a memorial jump? you promise right? promise??" oh my god, my heart broke at that very instant and i dont think that it will ever be the same. The desperation and hope in his voice will stay with me forever.
Im sharing this because we always talk about how our families dont understand it, they dont accept it. What was different about Chris family is that he talked to them about it all the time, they came out to the dz and saw the look on his face.. they understood. For the first time in my life i ment non jumpers who had an idea of why we do what we do and it made me cry for a long time..
Chris' dad had done a tandem skydive and chris had geeked it. during the eulogy his dad said that in freefall they looked at each other and for the one and only time in his entire life he saw chris happier than he had ever been. He said that after that he Understood that his sons love for this sport went above and beyond all measures..
we told his family stories, shared our experiences with chris and found out things about him we didnt know before. His sister asked me how i can skydive after suffering a loss this great.. It was so hard to find the words to tell her that now its more important to me than ever to jump because giving up, quitting would mean that it just wasnt worth it and chris' death was for nothing. I told her now that when i skydive its not just for myself anymore, but for chris too.. I had to honor my friend and the only way to do that was to skydive in his memory..
I never imagined a family could be so strong, could love each other so much, or accept strangers into their hearts so rapidly and without question.
The drive home was quiter.. We were exausted emotionally, mentally and physically. We all cried that day and the tears are still close at hand when i reflect on our experiences.. In the end we traveled 750 miles but went around the world in our understanding of a friend and the greatness of his family.. the four of us walked away from that long day with a new bond, stronger than most.. We learned things about each other that we wouldnt have found out any other way and saw sides of each other we could only have imagined existed before.. The four of us have shared something that words cant even begin to describe, even though ive tried in vain to do so with what ive written. We joined together and represented an entire dropzone of people, the four of us.. and leave now with a deeper understanding of this sport.
Im so greatful for the 3 other people that i took this physical, emotional and spiritual journey with and im greatful for the family that opened their arms to us and allowed themselves to lean on us for support and to give us support too. They didnt have to accept us, they could have yelled at us to get out instead they took it as a sign and truely understood that skydivers are their own family too..

http://kel197.tripod.com/skydivefriendsTRIPOD/

[skybytch 273]

Aww kelly.... I didn't even know Chris and you just made me tear up, remembering the funerals of a couple of my friends.... What an awesome family to let you all be such a big part of their goodbyes...
So sorry you and they have had to go through this.. but know that Chris will be there with you in freefall every time you jump; look for him and every once in awhile he'll fly up and tap you on the shoulder to say hi. Remember him most in the place he loved the best - the sky that is all of our home.
And know that while it will always hurt a little bit, in time you will be able to smile when you think about him again.
Peaceful blue skies...
pull and flare,
lisa
--
What would Scooby Doo?

[Albatross 0]

Kelly,
You, Lisa and all of my friends that I am now bound to are the most amazing thing about jumping. I know that your friend Chris would have agreed that we are all better off in this world and the next having friends and fellow jumpers like you. Bless you.
God bless us and God Bless America
Albatross

[AUDRA 0]

Kelly, I know exactly what you mean. As we were driving down to Pittsburgh we were all sad and quiet and not knowing what to expect from the family. We just knew we HAD to be there. But when we entered the room, there was skydiving pictures of Chris everywhere. He was smiling in each and every one. The canopy drapped across Chris and the casket was just breathtaking. Stacey, Thura and I held hands as we approached the family. Once we introduced ourselves to the family, they were consoling us.??? They asked alot of questions and seemed content knowing we were with him when he died. When I saw the letter I had wrote at the funeral parlor, It just, I cant even explain it. His sister said it just summed every thing up. I wrote from the heart what I felt and if that gave anybody, especially someone in his family some comfort, wonderful. I am glad that I was able in some way to give some comfort back to the family that gave me comfort and compassion and let me say goodbye to my friend. This was unlike any other wake I had ever attended. In the evening session there was about 10 of us jumpers there and we did a group hug which was like a huddle, we laughed we cried and we said that Chris was probably laughing at us all dressed up for him. that maybe we should have come in our freefly pants and hopped on into the room like a dirt dive. we laughed and cried again, just all huddled together forgetting for a moment that there was other people in the room. And, speaking for myself in all my life in all circles of friends, we, us skydivers have this bond this unspoken connection that ITS ALL GOOD.
On the way home the drive was completly different. We were able to speak without tears. It was like we were finally able to deal with the loss of our friend, brother and fellow skydiver. I will forever be greatfull to his family for giving that to me. It was their warmth, their spirit, their strength. I know he will never be forgotten. There is just too many people who loved and cared about him.
goodbye for now my friend. we will meet again.
audra

[Kelly 0]

audra,
let me just say, the comfort your letter gave to Chris family was immesurable. They read it during the mass service and you could just see how much it comforted his family. You spoke beutiful words, honest words, that expressed how we feel. Thankyou for such an honest, caring representation on behalf of the entire family out at xkeys. I feel like we've all been in different places these past 2 weeks. I want nothing more than to get out to the dz this weekend and be with all of you guys. I'll see you on saturday.
kel
http://kel197.tripod.com/skydivefriendsTRIPOD/

[Billy 0]

OK,, I admit it,, I'm a wuss,, my eye's wer wet,, friends like you all make life worth living,, and in passing a special knowing that my family and friends will be ok,,,

[Pammi 0]

I, too, teared up reading your words guys. Thank you for taking the time, and the emotional effort, to share this with us. I hope that whenever my time comes, or that of someone I love, that we have people like you to honor us with your thoughts, words and actions as you have.
Closing pin jewelry

[rhino 0]

I am very proud of you guys.. I teared up reading this.. Awesome!!!
Rhino
Blue Skies and Smooth Rides!!

[Strynx 0]

Same here.
Blue skies to Chris and his family. Hope my family will be as understanding.
P.L.U.R.

[bbarnhouse 0]

I was (am) deeply touched by the love, respect and honor that you paid to your friend and his family. I hope that each of us can say that we are as well loved within our own skydiving "families". I salute the divine within you.
It only takes a little pixie dust......

[Beachbum 0]

Ditto the last 5 posts on this ... nothing to add ... just posted to bring this back to the front page cause I think a lot of people often don't get past it ... and this is worthwhile reading ...

[Iflyme 0]

Kell, I'm so very sorry for your loss -- and for the loss of what sounds like a great person. I didn't know Chris - nor do I know the circumstances of his passing, but after reading your post, I feel the pain of losing a skydiving brother. It's funny how I have only met 3 of the other people who post here, but I kinda feel like many of you are good friends... what we share is impossible to describe in words -- it is too wonderful, too incredible. But I also share the pain you feel when tragedy strikes.
Live life - LIVE it while you can, because you never really know when it will end...
Frank

[steve1 5]

Sorry for your loss Kelly. I know your friend would appreciate what you wrote. Steve