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Condolences Thread: Cross Keys Incident - July 4th, 2005 - Sara & Ron

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I really don't know what else to say..... everytime I come on here to post I get too upset reading the thread and I never get around to posting.

I met Sara four years ago when I started out at xkeys. I really got to know her that first year, but I have only been back for the summers since because of university, but she never ceased to have a huge smile when she saw me every year and brightly ask what I've been up to all winter and give me a hug. I have never seen the girl without a smile on her face......EVER. She really was a unique soul. This last month when I was in xkeys for a week before leaving the country, she was talking about how elated she was to receive her ratings..... and all I could think about was "holy crap, I remember when you were in manifest and still learning to sitfly on a cold day in december when we barely had enough to get a load up."

She was an amazing soul to have around; so bright and cheery like a little ray of sunshine all the time.

My condolences to her family and everybody else who was blessed enough to know her...... my thoughts also go out to friends and family of Ron.

Blue ones forever......:(
Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

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Sara was always such a positive happy person. She always had a smile and a kind word for everyone who passed though CK. As many people have said before, I don't think that I ever saw her without a smile on her face. It is still so hard to grasp that we will not get to have her smile and positive energy around CK.

The two pictures that I attached were from Sara's Swooo jump last year. She was very excited about the jump, just as Stacey and I were excited to jump with her. Sara was the bottom on the 3 stack, and the other picture was right after we landed.

To Yonathan, Sara and Ron's families, I offer my sincere condolences. Both Sara and Ron will be truly missed.

alyson

team swooo
swooo #2

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I wasn't really sure how or even if I should post about this since it has touched very close to my own heart. It's not the first death I have dealt with in my 2 year skydiving adventure but certainly one that has been closer than any other. I had become very close to Ron since earlier this year and your words made me smile for the first time in 48 hours - thank you - thank you for helping me remember his kind-hearted yet ball-busting nature.

I went through some video last night and found a great jump where he clunked his head on the skyvan door on exit, so we got to bust his chops a bit. We laughed about it in freefall and then again on the ground and it was a jump we landed off together due to crazy winds. I took my helmet off and clipped it to my chest strap, forgetting to shut off the camera, and now have some awesome audio of him preaching to me about never giving up on a dive. We had been doing a simple 3-way headdown with go arounds (a first for me) and I could not get back to my slot.....I gave up trying and he warned me not to do it again - then went on to say what a great jump it was otherwise!

Ron was a special friend with a smile that touched deep in side my heart. He will not be soon forgotten.....here are a few smiles I had with him not long ago......Blues my friend ~

Dreams become reality, one choice at a time...

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I know I already have posted once but wanted to add something that some of you may have not known. Ron was a great hockey player. You figure a Florida boy would not have those skills. These are pictures after we won the league championship. Ron took a puck to the face but refused to go to the hospital. Wanted to make sure we won and he got his picture taken with the Stanley Keg. He was very excited that he finally got his name etched on that Keg. Once again you could not have met a better guy with more of a positive attitude he will be missed here at Z Hills

Mark

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I met Sara when I first started skydiving a few years ago. I remember her showing me how to pack, giving me tips and helping me with my new gear. She was always so willing to take time for others. I only got to jump with her a couple times, and me and Alyson got to bring her on her first 3 stack crw jump, what a fun jump! She was so excited, as was I, we got down from the jump and there she was in the landing area with a huge smile on her face, like always.

I will never forget Sara, it is still so hard to believe she is gone. Yonothan, I am so sorry for your loss, and my condolences go out to Sara and Ron's families.

-Stacey
team swooo
swooo #1

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My condolences to Yonathan and the x-keys family for the loss of Sara and Ron. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you. I was an acitve skydiver at x-keys from 1994 through 2000 and moved away in 2000. I've been back a few times since then and did some skydive U in 2002 but I'm sad to say that I never had the pleasure of meeting Sara or Ron. After reading all of these posts, I can see that they were wonderful people and I wish that I had met them. Again, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Blue Skies to all.

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My family's prayers go out to Ron's family (biological and skydiving family). Ron was such a really nice guy. Probably one of the closest people I've known in 12 years of skydiving to be in a fatal accident (I think I'm very fortunate - or not jumping enough). I hear Sara was a really fantastic person too. Ron's upbeat attitude and smiling face will be dearly missed at Zhills.

This has really got me asking myself some tough questions in life. Maybe some of you too?

One thing for sure, I know Ron would want everyone to learn something from the accident and to do our best to stay safe up there.

BTW: Anyone else notice all the hotties in about every photo of Ron? I mean the guy is good looking, but wow, I never knew he had that kind of mojo!

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This is way too sad, all the above describes Sara perfectly, such a loss... :(

Sara was so unique, it's hard for me to find the right words to express my sorrow and sadness, I'll miss her so much :(:(

I met Sara in summer 2003 when I spent few months jumping at X-keys, had fun with Sara and Yonatan at the DZ and outside, was lots of fun to see Sara here in Israel and see her enjoying her time here and of course smiling all the time...

my condolences to Sara and Ron's families and to the X-keys family, I wish I could be with you all now.

Dan.

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The South Jersey Courier Post has a nice article about Sara here: http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/southjersey/m070605l.htm

Parachutist who died recalled as free spirit with zest for life

Wednesday, July 6, 2005

By WILFORD S. SHAMLIN
Courier-Post Staff
MONROE
Sara Loshe, a sky-diving instructor who died in a parachuting accident, was remembered Tuesday as a "free spirit" who had a zest for living and a love for the Bible.
"It wouldn't surprise me that she would sky-dive," said Jim Pandolfo, an assistant principal at Paulsboro High School. "She enjoyed life. She was a free spirit."

Loshe, a 2000 graduate of Paulsboro High School, was 23.

Loshe, who lived in the Bridgeport section of Logan, had just told her mother last week that she "already lived two lifetimes with all the things she has accomplished in her young life," said Joan Claybourn of Paulsboro.

Claybourn's daughter Brieanna, 23, is Loshe's best friend. She is traveling abroad in Brazil.

Loshe had a passion for sky diving, even traveling to Florida during the winter so she could continue parachuting in a warmer climate. She did not attend college, pursuing a career in sky diving instead, Joan Claybourn said.

"Everyone she met tried to talk her out of it," said Claybourn, 52.

Once they found out how passionate she was, however, they then would encourage her, she said.

Loshe was described as a spiritual person, an active leader with a Billingsport United Methodist Church youth group in Paulsboro.

Claybourn's other daughter, Tori, recalled the time Loshe brought a sledgehammer to church to drive home a powerful point.

She encouraged young people to listen to Christian music. She also wanted them to dispose of their secular music CDs because of their racy lyrics and adult themes rather than passing them on to friends.

"In order not to encourage others to listen to them she brought a sledgehammer to church and smashed up CDs," said Tori Claybourn, 19.

Loshe's classmates named her the most talented female senior in her Paulsboro High School class.

She was known for trying anything and everything, from snowboarding and theater to photography and Hebrew language courses.

"She lived in Israel for one year," Joan Claybourn recalled.

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Another nice article about Sara on the New York Times today. It even has a very nice picture.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/nyregion/06parachute.html?

Sky Diving Was Passion for Woman Killed in Midair Collision

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By JENNIFER 8. LEE
Published: July 6, 2005
When Sara Marie Loshe graduated from high school, her father took her for her first sky-dive some 20 miles away from her home at Freefall Adventures in Williamstown, N.J.

Skip to next paragraph

After Sara Marie Loshe graduated from high school, her father took her sky diving for the first time.
When Ms. Loshe finished her first jump, she took off her gear, marched into the office and asked if they had any job openings, her mother, Sandy Loshe, recalled yesterday.

"They told her to fill out an application," Mrs. Loshe said. "Three days later, they called her."

That began Ms. Loshe's five-year love affair with sky diving and Freefall Adventures, one that ended tragically on Monday afternoon when Ms. Loshe, 23, and her boyfriend, Ron Samac, 33, of Wesley Chapel, Fla., collided in midair as they were practicing for the National Skydiving Championships later this summer in Perris, Calif.

"I prayed every day for her to be safe," Mrs. Loshe said. "It's very difficult to stop your children from doing what they love."

Since her first jump, sky diving had become the driving force in Ms. Loshe's life. She moved to a trailer on the same street as Freefall Adventures; she and her mother had recently begun choosing curtains.

Her first job at the sky-diving center was packing parachutes, but she had just become certified as a tandem instructor, which allowed her to jump out of a plane while attached to a student. She surrounded herself with people who shared her love of diving. She had just made her 1,300th jump.

Glenn Bangs, the staff manager for Freefall Adventures, said the accident was a result of diver error, rather than equipment failure or improper procedure, a view that was shared by investigators.

The Federal Aviation Administration inspected the equipment yesterday, said Detective Lt. Joseph Kohn of the Monroe Township Police. "All the equipment was working properly, all the certifications were up to date," he said. "It's an unfortunate accident. It's like pulling out on the highway without looking."

The two victims and a third diver, Yonaton Ran, were practicing for the national championships, Mr. Bangs said. As they soared through the air, they practiced twisting and turning into various formations before they pulled their parachutes at around 2,000 feet.

Sky-diving landing areas, like airports, have accepted patterns of descent. At Freefall Adventures, the default was to make left-hand turns as the divers circled the landing area, unless that brought the diver outside the safety zone. The collision occurred when Ms. Loshe's boyfriend made a right-hand turn while she was making a left-hand turn. They were about 200 feet from the ground - too close to disentangle themselves or to pull their reserve parachutes.

Ms. Loshe was a born-again Christian, as were her parents. She signed high school yearbooks with doodles of crosses and fish. First among her likes listed in the yearbook was Jesus Christ, second was Bible study. Her career aim was "to serve God in all I do."

Mrs. Loshe said her religion gave her strength to deal with her daughter's death. "She died doing what she wanted to do," she said. "She's flying now with the angels."
Inveniam Viam aut Faciam
I'm back biatches!

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I met Ron a couple years ago at the Mardi Gras boogie in Moss Point, MS. We made a ton of jumps together during the event, but a whole year went by before I saw him again in Zhills. We hung out and talked about the fun we had during Mardi Gras, while watching the night swoop comp that was going on. Then I met up with him a few weeks later at the Deland 420 boogie. Again we rehashed some of the things that happened during the Mardi Gras boogie, and partied with the 80's theme at a friend's house that night! He was always a pleasure to be around and I'm fortunate to have spent the time that I did with him...

As I sorted through all of my video footage yesterday, I pulled a bunch of the jumps that I had with him and also bugged my roommate (thanks, Dee!) for her footage of him. I'm putting together an edit as a tribute to our dear friend, Ron. He was a special guy and I want to do something special to remember him.

Ron was an awesome guy and his family and friends have definitely suffered a great loss...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alli
P.M.S. #3

If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.

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Far as I can tell she's in there a number of times, from beginning to end. Someone who knew her better could probably confirm or alter that, but I believe I saw her 3 or 4 times in there.
---
"Once you jump. you'll never look up at the sky the same way again."
Peace

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This has affected me very deeply. I am truly saddened by this loss. After reading all the wonderful things that everyone has said about both Ron and Sara, I felt the need to voice my thoughts about them. I, like many, had just met Ron at CK this summer. I remember congratulating him and shaking his pie covered hand after he had made his 2000 jump that day. His easy nature and friendliness were apparent from the beginning. Whenever I was out he was always organizing freefly jumps and asking if I wanted to go. I remember him asking me "what the hell I was doing on this jump?" in his butt-busting nature. The last day I jumped with Ron I was playing around with him by holding up my fingers showing how many were in my group. Ya know two-way or three-way. I kept showing him that gesture. Like in Waynes world where they kept flashin their badges, but not saying anything. Walking to the plane, he turned around and I jammed my "three-way" fingers in his face and he cracked up. That made me laugh. Rons presence at CK has made quite an impact on many people in the short time that he was there. That tells you something. He will not be forgotten.

Sara, as many have said, was a truly amazing individual. Yonatan, I am truly sorry. I know that your relationship with her was very special. It was visible whenever you two were together. I remember seeing you two do your special handshake in the plane just before altitude and could see that from that simple thing that you had a deep connection with each other.

Saras energy and smile were like an elixir. She spoke to me of what she wanted to do with skydiving. And was always looking and striving to improve herself in that area. I remember landing off with her one day and from the moment we landed, standing on the curbside, riding in the car, and back into the hanger she was talking the whole time about what she wanted to do with her camera and her excitement was absolutely hypnotic.

My heart goes out to the families of these memorable people.

Peace....Eric

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I'm a novice diver who has gone through some tough jumps recently. Sara always had a big smile and something positive to say or a clever remark to brighten my gloomy outlook after a less-than-successful dive.



Although I knew her briefly, it was as warm, caring, helpful, and cheerful person. I know that adds little to the notes above, but it's the small remembrance that I can contribute.



Yonatan:

You took me on my first tandem. When you heal some, take me for my "A" cert dive. You've got some time.



Doug

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This is truly sad. My condolensces to the friends and family of Ron and Sarah. I did not know Ron but from the posts above I wish I had.

Sarah was a truly remarkable person. I will always remember her perpetual smile, positive attitude. and enthusiasm. I can not remember ever seeing a frown on her face.

I'll never forget the first time I saw her with a tandem rig on. I was truly impressed. It seemed like just the other day she was working in manifest.

Perpetual Blue Skies Ron & Sarah.

Scott
Cross Keys Traffic - Front/Front Floater
Controled Descent - Outside Center

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I wasn't a skydiver. But, I remember Ron coming home excited after every day at the DZ. He was always so excited and then he would replay all of his skydives for me. In one of the apartments we lived in he painted the whole wall to look like a sky( picture this a huge wall pure blue with clouds everywhere). I knew how great he was ,but, it is wonderful to hear from so many different people who knew him that they think the same. I know he is flying high, sticking his tongue out at everyone, waiting for someone to take a picture . Always-Net

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After my wrist injury I started jumping again as soon as I could. My wrist was extremely delicate and I had to favor it in numerous ways.

Ron was one of the only people I allowed to dock on my right hand because we both knew it would be light with no tension. He was a bad-ass. We have tons of jumps together and constantly inspired each other to advance our skills.

I can't say anything about Sara that hasn't been said. I can't imagine anyone not loving her after knowing her more than 5 minutes.

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I'm not realy sure were to begin,...there are so many fun times and skydives i can recall with Ron over the years. They all seem to flash back to me in the past few days.... I guess the one thing that stands out to me is Ron was one of the truest friends a person could have, and many of us here at Zhills feel blessed to have known him. He was always there for you, & he always enjoyed to help others. I cant say i ever saw him land from a jump and not be smiling.

I met Sara years ago when she came down to Zhills with the Cross Keys crew. She was full of energy and a never was seen without a smile on her face. We met again this past January, and talked for an hour or more about her travels and how far she had came in the sport. It made me happy to see her so involved and still smiling.

I will miss there smiles.

Blue Skies forever to you two!
Colon Berry

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