Skydiver died in car accident

[cocheese 0]

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I didn't know Mark but as I was reading this post I could feel the tears coming. It sounds like he had a amazing life and friends. My prayers go out to all of you.

And the tears come with every post and picture. Today is harder than yesterday.
Drive safe my friends.

[WrongWay 0]

I just got a phone call about the news.

Mark was a great guy, and a great friend. I can't say enough good things about him, and he will be deeply missed by his friends.

I send all my love to his family and the rest of his skydiving family and friends.

Fly free, brother.

Edited to add: If anyone has any info on the address of the funeral home to send flowers, please post it. To those of you who are currently able to attend the viewing, please give his family a hug for me. I still can't believe this happened. It's always the good people we lose early.

Wrong Way
D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451
The wiser wolf prevails.

[freeatlast 0]

I'm sorry to read about this - Mark was booked on the same course next week and we had been chatting via email recently. I'm sorry that i won't get to meet him next week in TF ... From everything that's been said it sounds like he was a great guy ...

Fly Free Mark ...

And the first one in TF's for you ...

[Amazon 7]

[The111 0]

Shit. Myself and all the other flockers at Zhills jumped wingsuits with this guy and his friend Greg both in December and March. Really cool guy.

There are now two people missing from this photo.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[TomAiello 25]

Mark was coming out to Twin for my next (Labor Day) course. I'll never get to meet him, now.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[JumpCrazy 0]

Denning Bros. Funeral Home Ltd.
32 Metcalfe St.W.,
Strathroy, Ontario
N7G 1M6

Phone: (519) 245-1023
Fax: (519) 245-0466

It would be so nice if some of you could make the trip to Strathroy tomorrow evening. Tuesday 7-9pm is when most of his fellow skydivers are planning on attending.

Its so nice to read everyones posts here. He was the type of guy that you could meet for only 5 minutes and still remember for the rest of your life.

Some of you have also been wondering his last name.....Healy. Mark Healy. We used to refer to him as Markus Healy MD because of his incredible ability to 'pick up' lol. We loved watching the doctor at work.

Wow....This still hasn't sunk in with me.

Flying Hellfish #470

[JumpCrazy 0]

more pics...

Flying Hellfish #470

[JumpCrazy 0]

more....

Flying Hellfish #470

[kristenmichie 0]

These pictures are awesome....I LOVE the classic Mark pic, cuz its the exactly Mark! It makes me smile thinking about him packing in those sunglasses. Im sure you've got tons of awesome pictures of him Ben. Thanks for sharing.

Ahhhhhhhh I hate this.

We're here for a good time, not a long time.

[weegegirl 2]

Kristin, I thought the SAME thing when I just looked at the classic Mark picture. That is 100% him! I've been laughing and crying all day thinking about our buddy, eh.

The time I met Mark was in B building while packing.... my lineover! I remember trying to make the new Canadian guys feel welcome by yappin up a storm with them.... packed like crap.... gave myself a mal... and blamed it on Mark. Well, not really... but that was our joke.

I have to go back through my footage from the last 2 seasons. We got to make a lot of jumps together. If someone is putting together a video, let me know and I will send it. If not, I would love to put one together.

[dmkellett 0]

Hey,

I just found out about my friends passing away.

Mark was a very special person, Kind, honest, humble, very wise for his age, constantly happy, an inspiration to me and a joy to have known.

I was lucky enough to have been his wingsuit instructor this xmas just gone. I met him through my long time friend Greig from London ontario and he, Greig and Ben all sat the bird-man course. They were my first students after getting rated a BMI, kind of like an experiment for me and them both, we all had so much fun it remains one of my favourite few days jumping ever.
We started of with one on one coach jumps, then after a couple of days we put together some nice 3 and four ways. It was such a great learning experience for us all, and brought us all together very well as mates. I remember Mark being an absolute natural, who astounded me with the ease at which he picked up WS flying, and the natural ability he showed right from the first jump. I thought that he would make a great WS base pilot one day and hoped to jump with him...

He hassled me to let him jump my GTI straight after his first jump, then as i had just got hold of a stills camera volunteered to be my ginuea pig for my fledgling photography career.....

We jumped lots of two ways and the pic of him in the red white suit posted by Ben above is one of them. I have more but am not at home now, they will be posted soon though.

After we all left z-hills at xmas, we stayed in touch and we got back together for the z-flock event in march. There Greig and Mark took part in the large flocks we put together and Mark flew slot perfect in his brand new S3. He was always so happy and he had taken to WS flying with more passion and ability than any other person i have met. I talked to him lots over that period of a week and a bit we stayed on after the event, he had been through lots in his life and gave me guidance i hold with great regard that has changed aspects of my life forever. He showed me how to be focused when at the time i was a little lost, he gave me advice and his contageous happiness was always present.

We went off with a friend from deland for my first "A" and Mark ground crewed for us. He was so passionate about the thought of Base jumping. He filmed the footage of my A and somewhat scary instantly clearing lineover...... He takes with him a secret about that jump we shared that we always laughed about whenever we spoke......

Then a couple of months ago he came over here to the UK to meet up with Anna and he came up here to stay in Leeds where I live. I found him in his usual jovial way after a good old fashioned english pub crawl, we went for a Curry (obligatory in the north of england) and the last time i saw him he looked as happy as ever.

We talked so much about the sport we both loved so much, and the last time i spoke to my friend he was under his truck working when i called. He had been up for a reserve repack when we spoke and we discussed the implications of having a cutaway while jumping a wingsuit as each of us had not yet experienced one. I was wondering how i was going to attach a belly mount tertiary reserve to my rig while wearing a wingsuit as i wanted to do an intentional one day. I mentioned this to Mark....

I had previously thought during that day about just cutting away a good canopy anyway as i had already flown my reserve on a non wingsuit cutaway. I asked him what he thought and he calmly said something that still brings a smile to my face each time i think about it,

"Well , eh , i thought the same thing last weekend so i just left a brake unstowed and jumped my S3" I almost wet myself laughing when he told me this.
He was so calm and collected he chopped the spinner, went back to full flight and pulled silver nice and high. Job done.....

Well, I'm absolutely devasted at my friends death, I am so sad that all the things we discussed wanting to do together now won't happen. We planned on big wall Wingsuit jumps as soon as he was ready, and after my first taste in may i knew he would have loved it.

I am currently planning several things in my friends honour some naughtier than others.
I'll be going to a terminal wall in two weeks and the first one will be for Mark. I have other plans involving smoke grenades, a chartered helicopter, a base rig , my V1 and some city centre airspace that I think i might even be able to organise..... that my great mate Mark would have just loved, and it will be for him.

Anyone who has any footage from Techumseh please Pm me , i'm putting together a video of everything i have and want some more to add to it.

So long mate,

Long flights my friend

Darren

[weegegirl 2]

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Anyone who has any footage from Techumseh please Pm me , i'm putting together a video of everything i have and want some more to add to it.

PMing you now. Thanks for your words on Mark. I'm sure you will find a lot of good footage from the Tecumseh crowd. He was well loved by all.

[the_rye71 0]

Hey Skydivers,
Just a quick note to you all on how nice it is to read about all the things you have to say about my buddy Mark. He was my house-mate here in Strathroy and although I have never jumped out of an airplane or off of a building, an antenna, a span or earth I've been lucky enough to hear alot of the stories. Those of you that knew him knew he could tell a story. Along with the pictures and the videos I was often a captivated lone audience. I knew at the time how lucky I was to be there listening (and watching) to the stories. Each Sunday night upon arrival home and after lugging in all of his gear story time would begin. Good times!
I'm not sure what else to say except we are all lucky to have known him. He honestly inspired me with his passion for life. Everything seemed so simple for him. His

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cousin said to me, and I totally agree- It's like Mark had the biggest secret about how to live life. He couldn't tell us the secret but he could show us."
Although I am 8 yrs older than Mark and babysat him as a kid I learned so much from him. And he wasn't really teaching, just living life.
Those of you that I've met and to the others that I've heard about from him; he spoke highly of you all.

Cheers, Ryan Smith

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