Mar 24, 2012, 2:04 PM
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Susie Bateman-Arvin Good Guys
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My name is Amy Eppley and I am the youngest of 2 daughters of Susie Bateman. It is my sad duty to inform all of her skydiving friends that on January 3, 2012, she left us after a short illness. I feel I already know all of you, between her stories and all of her photos that I have made into a scrapbook to keep her legacy alive. This era of her life was one of her happiest times, thank you all for having such an impact on her life.
Mar 25, 2012, 1:50 PM
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Re: [susiesdaughter] Susie Bateman-Arvin Good Guys
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Thanks Amy.
The first memory that popped into mind was the almost comical effect she had on the guys at the dropzone. There were very few women jumping then.
The guys would be out there doing our best to be wild and crazy and adventurous, with more than a dash of uncouth, and when she would show up you could almost see people sort of mentally taking a shower and combing their hair and standing up straighter :-) :-)
And I remember the Fairchild jumps when Lyle was wanting pictures of people climbing all over it for the magazine.
People were up on top, and hanging from the steps underneath and up on the wheels right behind the prop, and there was Suzie, standing in the door with a great big smile.
She was a good influence, added a lot of class to the scene.
Mar 26, 2012, 7:55 PM
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Re: [susiesdaughter] Susie Bateman-Arvin Good Guys
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My name is Amy Eppley and I am the youngest of 2 daughters of Susie Bateman. It is my sad duty to inform all of her skydiving friends that on January 3, 2012, she left us after a short illness. I feel I already know all of you, between her stories and all of her photos that I have made into a scrapbook to keep her legacy alive. This era of her life was one of her happiest times, thank you all for having such an impact on her life.
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Thank you for sharing your mom with us. The Arvin Good Guys were a very important part of skydiving's history. The cutting edge stuff they were doing paved the way to the modern-day freefall formation work of today.
I'm glad Susie passed along her joy of skydiving to her family. If you ever get an itch, I'm sure there are a lot of skydivers that would love to see that scrapbook or digital scans of it. The folks at the National Skydiving Museum would probably also be interested in seeing some things from it for possible admission to their collection.
Mar 27, 2012, 4:08 PM
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Re: [susiesdaughter] Susie Bateman-Arvin Good Guys
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Hi Amy,
I'm so sorry for your loss.
It's difficult each time another good Arvin jumper leaves us. I'll always remember Susie as a bright light that transformed that dusty desert DZ into a special place.
Apr 15, 2012, 8:47 PM
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Re: [mjosparky] Susie Bateman-Arvin Good Guys
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Thanks for the picture Sparky.
As you know, Tony Lemus took that 1965 shot in Arvin's Pioneer Club. Susie certainly elevated the place to a "Five Star" establishment that evening. She was such a warm and unassuming person. A great loss.
Brian Williams, SCR 008, stands at her right and Bill Newell, SCR 003, is seated at her left. Also looking on are Bob Rhinehart (sitting) and Al Smith. Incidentally, Brian is wearing the pink jumpsuit he used while stunt-doubling Annette Funicello during Bob Buquor's filming of "Beach Blanket Bingo."
Jul 12, 2012, 12:19 PM
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Re: [chuckakers] Susie Bateman-Arvin Good Guys
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Thank you for your reply regarding my mom. I have so many pictures of her skydiving days that I am sure that there are some you have never seen. I filled up one entire scrapbook of nothing but her skydiving pics and modeling pics, luckily she kept everything. As soon as I am able to, I will scan the pics to this forum.
Jul 12, 2012, 12:23 PM
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Re: [skr] Susie Bateman-Arvin Good Guys
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Thank you so much for your reply, our mom was to say the least, one of a kind. I miss her more than words can say. I was wondering if you recall her parachute malfunction that occured at Lake Elsinore? When she fractured her pelvic bone is 3 spots. I have the newspaper article on that as well.
Jul 12, 2012, 5:56 PM
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Re: [susiesdaughter] Susie Bateman-Arvin Good Guys
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> our mom was to say the least, one of a kind.
Most of the people she jumped with were unique and colorful characters, but yes, she stood out even in that crowd, and not just because we were nearly all guys and she was a really pretty girl :-) :-)
I wasn't there for her malfunction, but now that you mention it I remember it happening.
I remember her being on the Fairchild jumps at Oceanside.
I was jumping at Oceanside, Elsinore, Taft, Arvin, Lancaster and California City, and ran into her at several places, but I imagine that I noticed her much more than she noticed me.
People are fading fast. It's good that you have so many memories of her.
