Eric (Tonto) Stephenson - Goodbye my friend

[skymama 37]

Quote

on another note.... Skymama, maybe when things are a bit more calm we could all try and find...

Yes, we will find a way to help this child, if Taya would like our help in Tonto's memory. I've also put inquiries out about helping Tonto's own two girls.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[gainer 0]

Both me and my sister were students of Tonto, he helped us to not just become better people but to enjoy it.

Whenever he took somebody out as he was approaching the door on an Aff L1 he would always ask if you are ready, on my sisters jump she asked him whteher he is ready. From then on he always told her that he was ready and he never forgot to play rock/paper/scissors with her ( to see who jumps first).

One of the most important things he taught me was to know when to say No that is something I will hold with me my whole life

He was a great friend and a great mentor, i feel honored to have known him.

My condolances to Cayllie and Shanna and Taya.

and finally t may you rest in peace

Dian, Lerissa, Pieter and Hilda Kemp

[Acoisa 0]

I can't belive it...
Although I didn't know him personally I read a lot of his Posts and am shocked to hear that he has passed.

My deepest condolences to his friends and family!

[KennC 0]

.. offering our thoughts and Prayers for friends and family.

[pierre3636 0]

HI ALL i was on the load with T and had a chat with him on the way to altitude - he was in great spirits ! God i cant believe i have to post on his report - what Peej said was pretty much it. He was fighting his way out after initiation of a 270 i think he lost a toggle but either way he was fighting all the way into impact after initiation - brother you are my mentor and i will always love the thought of you. i will miss you for the rest of time - everytime i put my wingsuit over my shoulders i will think of you. you will be flying off our wingtips into the light.

my wish is that every single canopy pilot reads the posts that follow and LEARN - thats the way he would have wanted it.

God bless his soul.

we got taya a flight to sa and she arrives in the am. i will help setup a trust for the girls - .

~ time is ~ time was ~ times past ~

[hookitt 1]

Eric, I always wanted to meet you ...

Taya, you're in my thoughts. Take good care of yourself.

Heavy. Words are few.

Tim

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[ypelchat 0]

What a sad news.

Tonto, you will be missed.

Thanks for all the help and advice, you so gladly provided to your brothers and sisters, here, on DZ.com. I know you spent countless hours, typing replies to the PM's that were sent to you.

I never had the chance to meet you, in person, to thank you, for all the help and advice you've been giving me, over the years.

Fly free my brother.
I wish you the bluest skies of all.

Yves.

[slotperfect 7]

A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed,
it feels an impulsion....this is the place to go now.
But the sky knows the reason and the patterns behind all clouds,
and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons.

Richard Bach

Arrive Safely

John

[weegegirl 2]

This is incredibly sad and hard to believe. t and I never got to meet in person, although I went from owing him a beer when we finally met to a keg. He's the reason I'm jumping right now. After my good friend Mike went in last year I was having a really hard time getting back in the air. He gave me the understanding and support that I so desperately needed. We were strangers then. This man was a saint.

Looking back at the pages and pages of PMs we exchanged, several things stand out. Things he said that gave me some of the strength I needed to stand back up after losing Mike. I'm sure he would be telling you all the same right now if he could.

"In the end, it's one foot in front of the other, and one day at a time that gets us through anything really hard."

"I hope you come to terms with this. I'm not a Christian, so by my beliefs, Mike is spending 40 days in the garden coming to terms with his change of status, and will start again. Buddhists believe their is purpose in each lifetime. When I hear of what Mike was like - he more than achieved his purpose."

Well, t... I hope the garden is nice. Maybe we will catch up in another life time. Blue skies buddy. Thanks for everything.

[hparrish 0]

Thanks for sharing that Skymama, it's speaks volumes about the man, but it's not hard to believe.

I too have never met him in person but have read his many contributions on DZ.Com and we have conversed via PM's. I'd have to say he is one of the very few folks on these posts that I agree'd with 99% of the time. I hate to see the nice ones go this way.

My Deepest sympathy to his family and friends. Blue Skies Tonto.

[Usetawuz 1]

A very notable loss. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones. Peace.

_________________________________________
The older I get, the better I was!

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

How incredibly sad. I can't count the times we conversed together on safety and canopy matters. What a loss to the community.

BSBD

Chuck

[highfly 0]

BSBD T

www.myspace.com/durtymac

[lippy 918]

BSBD. His posts were always full of good advice.

I got nuthin

[PLFXpert 0]

What he said.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[Zeemax 0]

This is just shitty. Proper fucking shitty.

Such an awesome guy.

Good bye Tonto, go fly free in the eternal blue skies. None of us wingsuiters can compete with the set of wings you'll be getting.

Taya - my thoughts are with you right now.

BSBD

Phoenix Fly - High performance wingsuits for skydiving and BASE
Performance Designs - Simply brilliant canopies

[Nicolaos 0]

Tonto was always, and will never stop being, a great teacher & mentor to anyone that's willing to learn and grow.

My thoughts and prayers to his family, friends and all who crossed his path.

[guppie01 0]

g

"Let's do something romantic this Saturday... how bout we bust out the restraints?"
Raddest Ho this side of Jersey #1 - MISS YOU
OMG, is she okay?

[rlmelfi 0]

This is bad. I'm so tired of the good one's getting bit. I jumped with Eric in the late 80's in California and Kansas. Sorry buddy, you were the goods.

[tbrown 26]

Nothing like a nice hammer blow to the heart on a Sunday afternoon. What a sad shame.

When I came back to the sport four years ago, I learned how to pro pack at Perris from Raoul Gravell, who was one of Tonto's students back home in SA.

This is the part of the sport I hate, the part I didn't miss for a moment all the years I was away, and the part that is the hardest to come back to. The part we have to make up our minds to live with if we want to keep on doing this. Farewell Tonto, and thanks for the comments and PMs you sent my way too.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[speedy 0]

Sadly the bears were there.

I will miss the lucid and informative posts from someone I will never get the chance to meet.

Blue Skies Tonto
Fly free forverer

Dave

Fallschirmsport Marl

[LisaH 0]

Rest in peace.

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[SpringVark 0]

Tonto was the reason I carried on diving. His words not only taught me how fly in the sky, but also how to better live my life down here on the ground.

Thank you so much for that.

BSBD.

[ladyskydiver 0]

BSBD...condolences to family and friends.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[warpedskydiver 0]

Holy shit, it was just a week or so ago we were chatting on about fine firearms.

Life is tragically short.

I offer my condolences to his family in their time of need.

To all who actually knew him, it must be of some solace that you had such a good friend.