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efs4ever

Bill Ottley

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As of a few days ago I heard in an email he was on a respirator with fever and pneumonia. Doctors seem to be saying this is something he can recover from . . . All his vital signs were good.

NickD :)BASE 194



I have known Bill for over 20 years and his vital signs were never good.:P

Sparky
My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

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Anyone got an update on him?



Mr. Ottley is still in the hospital. He is a little bit worse off.

If you would like to send a message to him, please send it to USPA HQ.
CNeedels_AT_uspa.org replace _AT_ with @

Bill enjoys hearing from fellow skydivers.

Do it now.

.
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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

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Bill Ottley is now at

The Washington Home
3720 Upton Street, N.W.,
Washington DC. 20016.

His condition is deteriorating and the family asks that people reconsider visits.
Bill has family and friends visiting him on a rotating basis. He is well-cared for.

Chris Needels will pass emails or cards onto him.
Cneedels_AT_uspa.org

For the newer jumpers that do not know who Bill Ottley is, ask any jumper that has been jumping more than 15 years. Bill Ottley did a large number of great things for USPA and skydiving. He is one of the living legends. I haven't written a bio on him for ParachuteHistory.com because it would take too long. ;)

There are many colorful stories about Bill Ottley. Just ask around.

Bill Ottley was a USPA Director as well as the Executive Director. He brought USPA from the brink of bankruptcy to financial 'in the black' days that included purchasing the Duke St. property where HQ is today. The mortgage was paid off early and today is worth around $1.5M. (I'm not sure for sure, but I think the original purchase price was $385,000 to $400,000)

Can I ask that a moderator make this thread a sticky?

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

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I recieved this email this morning from Chris Needels

Bill Ottley passed away at 6:24 a.m.(eastern time) this morning. His suffering has at last
ended; and skydiving has lost an icon.

Bill had asked for a small memorial service followed by a very big
party. And a very big party he will have indeed.

In the near term he will be cremated, at his request, with the spreading
of his ashes at a later date, most likely in conjunction with the
service and the party.

We love you, Bill.

.............

Blue Skies Mr. Ottley.

.
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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker
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I am utterly blown away, this is a very sad day. I am glad that I was able to know Bill and call him a friend. We have truely lost an Icon in this sport and he will be missed. My deepest sympathies go out to his family.:(
"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

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I remember all the stories my mother would tell me when she was working with him as president of USPA.

I remember meeting him for the first time when I was 15 at one of the first the para-ski meets.

I of course wasnt jumping yet and my parents (who dont drink) let me hang out with him and even have a couple of beers. I was amazed that my father let me do that. I had a great time with Bill.

20 years later I saw him again, and he said I remember you!!! And then he asked if I was the same Schrimsher boy that landed on the hangar in 1993. I said yup that happened 10 years ago Bill, damm you have a great memory. Saw him 3-4 times at he last couple of PIA Symposiums and he always remembered the hangar..

You will be missed but never forgotten.

I guess now you and Jerry can do some catching up.

BSBD



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I have some great memories of Bill. We built and named the bar at Cross Keys "Ottleys." Bill was there for the dedication, and did hte first shot off one of our packers that evening. It was an absolute hoot. He was always a bright face to be around.

Blue ONes, Bill!!

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Blue Skies Mr. Ottley.


***

Blue Skies Bill.

Bill use to stay with my roomie, Mark Limond and I from time to time when he visited San Diego.

A decade back, my then girl friend now wife was involved in an Around The World Air Race...
I went with her to Washington DC to meet with the director of the U.S. part of the race...

Quite a surprise when W.H.O. walks in with a fist full of paperwork and says "Hello Jim, still jumping?" ;)



Bill took us out to dinner at some private 'D.C.' club, and went well out of his way to smooth out the bumps for her...


Definitely a 'Man For All Seasons' was Bill Ottley.



I got to spend some time once again with him two years ago, when he came to the Kitty Hawk Century of Flight demo.




He will me missed.










~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

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First Don, now Bill. Not a good year for skydiving.

When we got emails from Chris N. giving us updates on Bill's condition, he said he would pass along messages.

Well, I waited about a day too long. By the time I thought of a message to send Bill, Chris said he was unresponsive.

So folks, there is a lesson for us. Don't wait too long to tell your friends important things.

My message to Bill?

"Bill, you can't get sick and die on us now. We have a lot more drinking to do together at BOD meetings!"

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Bill Ottley passed away at 6:24 a.m.(eastern time) this morning...



Last week at the CRW World Record jumps in Lake Wales FL, we gathered up a lot of messages that were to be passed to Bill. Hopefully, he received them and they added to the other messages he had been receiving since his illness. I hope he got the message that jumpers all over the country were grateful for the service he had rendered and the good that he had done for all of us. Bill Ottley considered the advancement of skydiving to be his life's work. He succeeded admirably.

Blue Skies, Bill.

Kevin
======================
Seasons don't fear the Reaper,
nor do the Wind, the Sun, or the Rain...

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Oh my God. For some reason, I thought of a conversation I had with Bill, at Lake Whales, on the way to work this morning at around 7:15AM.

I stole his golf cart for a minute and he yelled at me. Sorry again about that, Bill. Bill and I had a chat and he asked me about how Stuey Neuman was doing and the rest of the Crosskeys crew.

In the short time of speaking to Bill, he seemed like he loved not only the sport but all of the people in it. He forgave me for the golf cart issue and explained that he really needed it to get around. =8^T Blue Sky's forever.

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