Gray Winey, Jumptown, Orange, Massachusetts

[3331 108]

We will miss you big guy. You've left a space in our heart's.

I Jumped with the guys who invented Skydiving.

[ianmdrennan 2]

I was saddened to hear the news today. What a nice guy - I always really liked him.

BSBD

Performance Designs Factory Team

[Moloki 0]

Blue Skies my friend...I will miss you.
Deno

[martlet 0]

Miss you already. I'm proud to call you "friend".

[sharris595 0]

Gray-

Wherever you are, thank you for your great smile and years of support and advice. I didn't know you long, but you were so great at teaching. Once earlier this year I as a noob with only 25 jumps you helped coach me when another student came pretty close to me while under canopy on final. You told me not to worry about it but were happy to let me talk about it if that's what I "needed to do". Everyone in JT obviously held you in very high regard, and my one regret is that I didn't get to have years with you too.

Blue skies, Gray. You were one of the best.

Steve

[JALUV2 0]

Fly Free My friend!

You will be missed,The face of Jumptown has severely changed yet again!

I will never forget you and all that you have done for me and the many Great conversations we had. Every Jump I make I will think about you and the wisdom you have instilled upon me.

Love you Gray, You will be sorely missed!

BLue skies forever!

Your friend,
J

[flygirltricia 0]

Thank you for all your smiles, laughs and good times. Thank you for your friendship, comfort, great hugs and your love. You have taken a piece of my heart with you. I will miss you dearly, but will always hear you say, "not bad...for a girl", each and every time I nail a dead center, and that will always make me smile. Blue skies and fly forever free my friend. You are my new twinkling star when I look to the skies.

yesterday has passed, tomorrow is yet to come, live for today!!

[lurch 0]

Gray, you big grizzly bastard...
My first real impression of you ten years ago was this enormous beard with eyes looming out of the dark by the fire while I was in AFF, telling me "Don't be a dumbass"

Naturally I didn't want to let the giant scary awesome guy down. I listened. I learned. I made it in the sport. Out of a lot of people offering me advice you were one of the few whose opinion really mattered to me. I wanted to make you proud, and later when it turned out I did in fact have what it took to cut it as a jumper and then a wingsuit pilot, you let me know that I had.

If it weren't for you I might have ended up remaining a bit of a recluse but you ran around telling everybody this Lurch character may be a freak but he's ok... You told me "Come on out to Jumptown I've been tellin' em all about you" I go to Jumptown and seems half the reason I got a warm welcome was "Gray says you're cool"

Because of you I know where slack is...over there (vague gesture) somewhere...not here...

Because of you I really gave a damn about doing the job right. Not wanting to disappoint you I made sure to never...ever...miss the airfield at your place. The couple times I -almost- did, and landed at the very edge of the field, I knew you'd been watching because you were there with your truck, waiting for me, before I'd even landed. I'd see your truck coming for me as I came in dodging treetops and know everything was gonna be cool cause Gray's got my back.

Nothing lifts the heart like getting into a sketchy circumstance, and seeing a friend coming for you.

I took building professional-grade air skills so seriously because you expected me to. That high expectation saved my life more times than I can count.

Out of everyone at Jumptown you were the first I'd look for when I showed and the one I was always the most happy to see. My first priority was to go find and hug the big guy who had so MUCH to do with getting me started and teaching me to survive.

To me Jumptown is now a ghost town...almost all my friends have gone. Gary. Charlie. Howie. Dennis Senior. Muppet.
And now, hurting most of all,
You.

No worries big guy, I'll just toughen up a little more. I'll deal with it. I'll move on. I'll just keep flying like you told me.
When I was told you were gone, I twisted away, shouting in denial anger and disbelief. No way. Not Gray. I went out back and screamed rage at the sky so the ancestors will know a great warrior is on his way.

They heard me. They'll be holding a special place by the fire for you. They're probably throwing a huge afterlife bash in your honor right now.

Save me a spot by the fire friend, I've got a life of my own to finish, might last another 50 years but like all lives it'll end someday, probably as unexpectedly as yours did.

You're one of the people I'll most look forward to seeing again someday around that fire in the clearing at the end of the path.

Just be there. I'll bring the beer.
-Lurch

Live and learn... or die, and teach by example.

[Airgump 1]

Quote

Gray, you big grizzly bastard...
My first real impression of you ten years ago was this enormous beard with eyes looming out of the dark by the fire while I was in AFF, telling me "Don't be a dumbass"

Naturally I didn't want to let the giant scary awesome guy down. I listened. I learned. I made it in the sport. Out of a lot of people offering me advice you were one of the few whose opinion really mattered to me. I wanted to make you proud, and later when it turned out I did in fact have what it took to cut it as a jumper and then a wingsuit pilot, you let me know that I had.

If it weren't for you I might have ended up remaining a bit of a recluse but you ran around telling everybody this Lurch character may be a freak but he's ok... You told me "Come on out to Jumptown I've been tellin' em all about you" I go to Jumptown and seems half the reason I got a warm welcome was "Gray says you're cool"

Because of you I know where slack is...over there (vague gesture) somewhere...not here...

Because of you I really gave a damn about doing the job right. Not wanting to disappoint you I made sure to never...ever...miss the airfield at your place. The couple times I -almost- did, and landed at the very edge of the field, I knew you'd been watching because you were there with your truck, waiting for me, before I'd even landed. I'd see your truck coming for me as I came in dodging treetops and know everything was gonna be cool cause Gray's got my back.

Nothing lifts the heart like getting into a sketchy circumstance, and seeing a friend coming for you.

I took building professional-grade air skills so seriously because you expected me to. That high expectation saved my life more times than I can count.

Out of everyone at Jumptown you were the first I'd look for when I showed and the one I was always the most happy to see. My first priority was to go find and hug the big guy who had so MUCH to do with getting me started and teaching me to survive.

To me Jumptown is now a ghost town...almost all my friends have gone. Gary. Charlie. Howie. Dennis Senior. Muppet.
And now, hurting most of all,
You.

No worries big guy, I'll just toughen up a little more. I'll deal with it. I'll move on. I'll just keep flying like you told me.
When I was told you were gone, I twisted away, shouting in denial anger and disbelief. No way. Not Gray. I went out back and screamed rage at the sky so the ancestors will know a great warrior is on his way.

They heard me. They'll be holding a special place by the fire for you. They're probably throwing a huge afterlife bash in your honor right now.

Save me a spot by the fire friend, I've got a life of my own to finish, might last another 50 years but like all lives it'll end someday, probably as unexpectedly as yours did.

You're one of the people I'll most look forward to seeing again someday around that fire in the clearing at the end of the path.

Just be there. I'll bring the beer.
-Lurch

lurch, my brother, you couldn't have said it better. gray was a part of my coach course at jumptown along with the delandian laidlaw many, many years ago. he loaned one of his old jumpsuits to do my check jumps, until he loaned it to me bird shit couldn't keep up with me. never knew mountains like him could fall so slow.

gray, keep mister gates and little miss debbie out of trouble till i get there. might need some wing and harp coaching too, depending where we are.

[ChrisD 0]

I remember one night at the Bonfire in Pepperell in 93' you looked up at the night sky and mentioned "there goes another one," how you spotted those shooting stars I'll never know...
C

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."