Longtime New England jumper and rigger Dave Hersey passed away this morning, January 5. A a long battle with ALS (often called “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”) cut his skydiving short in recent years, but not his love and dedication to the sky. If you went to any skydiver weddings in the New England area, you probably witnessed Dave performing the ceremony—probably barefoot and probably with a peaceful, knowing smile under a bushy beard.

Videographer Sean Rogan shot Dave’s final skydive, his 25th skydiving anniversary, in October 2008:

An ash dive with 10 pounds of glitter (at Dave’s request) is being planned. All the best to Dave’s many friends and family.

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Steve Harrington on a sunset jump in Pepperell, July 2009.

We’re putting the final touches on a memorial to Steve Harrington for the December issue. Steve had just completed the new world record 68-way wingsuit record and went on a fun jump to celebrate. He struck the tail of the plane on exit and lost his life. If you have any memories of Steve, please do share them in the comments.

Blue skies, Steve.

Photo by Jeff Donohue, Drunken Skwrl Productions.

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Canadian jumper Aaron “Crash” Moore passed away this morning at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, FL. He landed off-field at Skydive DeLand yesterday morning and was being prepared for surgery. Early reports indicated non-life-threatening injuries.

Blue skies, Crash, you will be missed. Please feel free to share your stories and memories in the comments section.

News report: http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/breakingnews/sky090709.htm.

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Air sports suffered an enormous loss yesterday; Eli Thompson lost his life doing a wingsuit jump in Switzerland. The Red Bull guys have a memorial to him here: redbullairforce.com/2009/08/eli-thompson-1973-2009. We send his wife Sarah, two daughters and soon-to-be son our condolences and prayers.

We’d like to publish a look at Eli’s life and contributions to the sports of skydiving and BASE jumping for the October issue—contact us at lara@blueskiesmag.com if you have anything you’d like to share about his many, many achievements or how he’s impacted your life.

Blue skies, Eli—may you fly in peace forever.

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Long-time Virginia jumper Harry Parrish passed away over the weekend at West Point Skydiving Adventures. James Bennett shared these thoughts about Harry with us. Please feel free to add your own memories in the comments, or e-mail them to us at admin@blueskiesmag.com.

“In the past two weeks, I had jumped twice with him, and have been really close for the past year. He was a father-figure to a lot of us, but I felt especially close to the guy, being ex-military.

Harry would do anything for anyone, he was just built that way. If he wasn’t burning down the woods with an oversized bonfire in Louisa, he was popping wheelies on the tractor at West Point while hauling the battery trailer to the King Air. I only had the honor to know him for two years, but I can remember almost every interaction we had, he just made that kind of impression on you. Harry was bigger than life.

Here’s the picture from my log book. It was taken on 10-13-08 after my AFF L2 jump at Skydive Virginia! in Louisa. Harry was on my reserve side.

What pages from a logbook can tell you about someone can probably say more than anything else.

I really, really loved Harry, and he will be missed by everyone that ever knew him.”

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Jim Kime

Captain Jim “Phantom” Kime of Zephyrhills, FL passed away May 24th, 2009 due to a short illness. How do you describe the indescribable? Phantom was a Master Mariner and held the highest qualification of Sea Captain. Phantom was a skydiver for over 35 years and absolutely loved the sport and camaraderie. He was the embodiment of Skydive City and would rarely be seen without a toothpick in his mouth or beverage in hand. He was a Muff Brother, an asshole, Mayor of Skydive City’s City Hall, and one of the last true gentlemen. He was generous and did so much for the community, both local and skydiving. Phantom’s departure left an incredible void which will never be filled. He was respected, loved, crude, honest, a mentor, and a legend. But most importantly, Phantom was our beloved friend and the coolest motherfucker you would ever have the privilege to know.

Leave your memories of Phanton in the comments below. For information about posting a BSBD memorial in the magazine, e-mail lara@blueskiesmag.com.

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