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From Will Stephens: All, I talked to Wally's mom today who just heard from the medical examiner's office. The word has finally come back for the official cause. Apparently Wally had viral Myocarditis. This is a viral infection of the heart which caused heard arythmia/lack of oxygen and heart failure. Here is a link to some info about viral Myocarditis http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic1534.htm . -- Will Stephens

There is no additional information and probably never will be. I'm sorry this is not the answer most people want to hear. We will just have to focus our energies on celebrating the life of an extraordinary individual who gave so much to so many people. He was just too big for this world. "I'm a Waldo popsicle, would you like to lickkkkk ME?"

update from Will & Sage: From Sage, fyi http://waldo.mindcrime.net is up and running. its about as basic as it gets for the moment. photo uploading is available right now and does work. I do have to approve photos before they get posted...the only security i could impliment so that i didn't get DoS'd. videos are soon to come. there is a chatbox of shoutouts, and news posts can be submitted and approved /sm

Waldo Friends, Family, and Co-Workers, This is Will Stephens, and I have been attempting to take care of a great many things over the past few days in an effort to keep Waldo's parents from having to go through it. Waldo's services dates have been set: Celebration of Life Friday November 18th 2:00 pm United Methodist Church 13000 Gayton rd Richmond, VA (west end) Video memorial contact Joyce or upload to sage/website Wally's Home Church ceremony Saturday Nov 19th 11AM Idylwood Presbyterian Church 7617 Idylwood Rd Falls Church, VA 22043 For those wishing to send condolences, flowers, cards to Wally's parents, here is their Contact Information: Teo and Virginia Morales 7911 Clifton Rd Manassas, VA 20109 Information regarding videos and pictures: Please forward all pictures and electronic video you want to Sage [email protected] You can either e-mail directly now, or you can wait until later this evening when the website is up and running (an e-mail to follow). The website is being set up to allow anybody to upload/download Waldo videos and pictures. Whoever else is working with picture items, please coordinate with Sage so that there is no duplication of efforts. The celebration of life video is being coordinated by Joyce Rusincovitch [email protected] . This will include both Skydiving and Professional Waldo pictures and video. If you have a video to send, please make a copy of it and FedEx it immediately. Please either only copy the appropriate segment, or list the cue time so that the person creating the video can go directly to it. If you have pictures or video in electronic format, please send to Sage. Please send a copy of the video to Life Evac - Waldo Videos Dinwiddie County Airport 23301 Airport Rd Petersburg, VA 23803 If you send Joyce an e-mail please include Waldo in the subject line. If you send video tape that you must get back, please include a note with your information. She would prefer that video you send be copied segments that they can then give them to Wally's parents when they are done. Somebody please kindly forward this e-mail around to everybody and post it on dropzone.com . I am also taking care of all of Wally's posessions, so if you have something I should take care of, please let me know. I have compiled a list of e-mails to send correspondence to. If you know anybody to add to the list, or need something coordinated, please contact me. Home 540-907-4490 Cell 571-228-7020 (doesn't work at home) [email protected] 1704 Sherwood Dr Fredericksburg, VA 22405 Wally's life, passion, and compassion have impacted the lives of thousands around the world. He will be missed beyond words. Fly free my brother. Will Stephens

I attempted to tell this story this weekend but had a very hard time getting the words out. I thought I'd try again. I started jumping in 1998, and I believe it or not, I was painfully shy. I met Waldo and that changed everything. We quickly became inseparable. Every night before bed we would talk on the phone for about an hour or two, sometimes longer. When he was running rescue he would tell me about his day. Unlike many medical-types, he never referred to the patient by disease/condition/diagnosis, he referred to them as people. He would tell me about each call he made that day/night and how it impacted him. He remembered every little detail about each person he treated. (of course, he never broke confidentiality) But he had a story and had made a personal connection with every single one. It was never "just a lady with a car in a ditch", instead it was "a terrified single mom with 3 small children at home who was comforted by Waldo holding her hand and the stories that he told her". Waldo had this compassion inside of him that I have not seen anywhere else. Just recently, following the earthquakes in the middle east, he wanted to see about heading over there to help. He had not been back from New Orleans very long and had felt very deeply about what he had experienced. Despite the heart ache he felt over the tragedy he had just experienced, he was willing to do it all over again. Waldo was bigger than life and he had a heart to match. I don't even have words to describe how much I am going to miss him. This thread is keeping the spirit of Waldo alive and that gives me some comfort. I haven't been home in a few days, but will share some of my pictures with you once I get home. My heart goes out to all of you. I love you WallyBear!

Rahlmo's Canopy Skool is in session September 14, limited to eight students. Overflow registration may be scheduled as early as September 21. The Skool is fun and run by Kevin Gibson and Jason Eames. Kevin is a canopy flight author and Jason is a swoop competitor just off the circuit. Both are USPA-rated. This will be the third session of the Skool. So far, everyone has been very happy with their results, which come with a money-back guarantee (less the price of the jump tickets). Class starts promptly at 8:00 with registration, orientation, and goal setting. Each student makes a skills-evaluation jump, followed by a video review with the entire class. Jason and Kevin present a lesson between each of the four jumps thereafter (five jumps total). The class costs $250, which includes the jumps, the course booklet, and a completion certificate (mailed later). In addition, you may repeat the classroom portion any time for free and get additional coached jumps for a reasonable rate (scheduled individually with the coaches). This course also qualifies you for more advanced classes after you practice these basic skills. Topics include how to get softer and more accurate landings, flight planning, group descent strategies, control familiarization, flight theory and application, equipment analysis, packing tips, spotting, tracking, defensive flying, and more. If you're a little afraid of your canopy, want to improve your landings, want to begin exploring performance flight, or simply want to improve your current skills and confidence, this is a good way to do it. To register, arrange to get a $50 deposit to Kevin ([email protected]) or Jason ([email protected]) and the dates you're available from September through October.

Dave Brown at Skydive ORANGE, Freefly Event Date(s): 09/28/2002 (Sat) to 09/29/2002 (Sun) Location: Skydive Orange 11339 Bloomsbury Road Orange, VA 22960 Phone: (540) 672-5054 or 672-5044 Web Site: http://www.skydiveorange.com also check out http://www.freeflyorange.com Dave Brown at Orange Sept. 28-29th. Mark your calendars. He will be organizing one-on-ones and big ways. "First time EVER at Skydive Orange! Dave heard sooo much about the best DZ in the land that he had to make a trip to see for himself! Dave Brown of the Freefly Training Center based out of Skydive Sebastian, FL will be at Skydive Orange September 28-29! Dave has thousands of freefly jumps and travels the country hosting and taking part in various freefly and swooping events. He is a member of the World Record Freefly Formation (18 Way - Parachutist, April 02) set in Sebastian in February 02. Dave is an outstanding teacher and looks forward to coming to VA for the Skydive Orange experience! We're sure you all will get A LOT out of this, so start making plans to join us at Skydive Orange for this landmark occasion." Hope to see you there!

Skydive Orange by far the best place I've been to. It is a place where really diverse people get together and do what they love. You can fly on your belly or your head. They host a variety of camps for freeflying and RW all through the season. The super otter (Mr. Fabulous) is sweeeet! Great people, great fun, and excellent jumpin'.