rdy4flt 0 #51 October 14, 2008 Thank you for the info Janna. I will be at the Club from 8-10am then I have to drive to Glendale for work but I'm going to try my hardest to make it back to the Club for Harry's Memorial Service. Will you be there? I can't begin to express my sorrow for your loss. Harry will live on in all of us that know how great of a person he was. I have informed a few others not on this forum of the memorial service. Take care, Rudi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dljanko 0 #52 October 14, 2008 Harry will be truly missed. I can't really believe he is gone. He was a great man, and a teriffic instructor. This is such a shock, especially considering Harry's dedication to safety. Janna, I wish you peace in your grief. I am so sad for you, as are Harry's thousands of friends. Rest in peace, Harry. Now you have eternal blue skies... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreenLight 7 #53 October 14, 2008 "Where's Squishy?" A favorite line from an old movie that Harry used to repeat just about every time we saw each other. I will miss that line and miss the Christmas card each year. Most of all though, I will miss Harry. A finer man never lived. Thanks for sharing him with us Janna. Larry Walsh / Air Trash WebmasterGreen Light "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Danl 0 #54 October 15, 2008 Harry was one of a kind and I miss him already. Warm thoughts and best wishes to Janna. Dan'l Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LisaH 0 #55 October 15, 2008 Ok; I can do this now. RIP Harry. Be yourself! MooOOooOoo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
petehill 0 #56 October 15, 2008 We all love you, Janna... our hearts are broken. Pam Sedman/Pete Hill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NovaTTT 2 #57 October 15, 2008 I knew Harry only here on DZ.com. He was a good guy and I'll miss him. I'll probably think of him sometimes when walking back from a long landing, as I have before: "Harry, why did you land all the way out there?" Black Death comes suddenly, from out of nowhere. My condolences to his family, friends and mates who are mouring their sudden loss. N"Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mjosparky 4 #58 October 15, 2008 Here a couple of pictures of Harry docking on me during an Air Show demo. It was one of my last jumps. Not may guys will dock on a burring smoke. Thanks for being my friend Harry. Sparky http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp55/mjosparky/Cable06pix2.jpg http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp55/mjosparky/CABLE06pix.jpg My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jwynne 0 #59 October 16, 2008 I just spoke to one of the deputies about Harry's autopsy. It was done on 10/14. They are sending out for toxicology, so it will not be final until that information is back. The cause of death was trauma, but a contributing factor was heart disease. His heart was enlarged with significant coronary artery disease. They said it seems likely he suffered a heart attack during deployment. He may have been alive, but unconscious when he hit the ground. This makes the most sense to me. I couldn't imagine Harry being incapacitated by a hard opening with an unstowed brake. Harry's father died of a heart attack in his forties. Harry was very aware of his genetic predisposition for heart disease. He exercised, ate well, monitored his blood pressure & cholesterol. We do all we can, but I guess when our time is up, it's over. Please pass this information along. I think it will help us to eventually be at peace with this. Janna Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydemon2 0 #60 October 16, 2008 Blueskies Harry! See ya on the other side! Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone! I like to start my day off with a little Ray of Soulshine™!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shell666 0 #61 October 16, 2008 QuoteI just spoke to one of the deputies about Harry's autopsy. It was done on 10/14. They are sending out for toxicology, so it will not be final until that information is back. The cause of death was trauma, but a contributing factor was heart disease. His heart was enlarged with significant coronary artery disease. They said it seems likely he suffered a heart attack during deployment. He may have been alive, but unconscious when he hit the ground. This makes the most sense to me. I couldn't imagine Harry being incapacitated by a hard opening with an unstowed brake. Harry's father died of a heart attack in his forties. Harry was very aware of his genetic predisposition for heart disease. He exercised, ate well, monitored his blood pressure & cholesterol. We do all we can, but I guess when our time is up, it's over. Please pass this information along. I think it will help us to eventually be at peace with this. Janna Janna my love, it makes sense to me too. Harry would have done ANYTHING to survive this if he could. I'm thinking of you and Harry and sending hugs and love your way. xoxoxo'Shell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rdy4flt 0 #62 October 16, 2008 QuoteI just spoke to one of the deputies about Harry's autopsy. It was done on 10/14. They are sending out for toxicology, so it will not be final until that information is back. The cause of death was trauma, but a contributing factor was heart disease. His heart was enlarged with significant coronary artery disease. They said it seems likely he suffered a heart attack during deployment. He may have been alive, but unconscious when he hit the ground. This makes the most sense to me. I couldn't imagine Harry being incapacitated by a hard opening with an unstowed brake. Harry's father died of a heart attack in his forties. Harry was very aware of his genetic predisposition for heart disease. He exercised, ate well, monitored his blood pressure & cholesterol. We do all we can, but I guess when our time is up, it's over. Please pass this information along. I think it will help us to eventually be at peace with this. Janna I'm not a skydiver but this sounds logical to me. Like most of us know with Harry's experience most likely he would have recovered had he been conscious. Thank you for the info Janna. Although we never met, Harry told me a lot about you so I feel like I know you. Today, I was listening to the recordings Harry made of our flights together...it was difficult but at the same time nice to hear his voice and remember all the good he did. It turns out I will make it to the memorial at LGB Flight Club, hope to meet some of you there. Rudi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chileman 0 #63 October 16, 2008 Harry was one of the great ambassadors of our sport. He will be missed as evidenced by the number of lives he touched on this thread alone. A small sampling, I'm sure. Janna, my heart goes out to you. Lee Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dljanko 0 #64 October 17, 2008 QuoteI just spoke to one of the deputies about Harry's autopsy. It was done on 10/14. They are sending out for toxicology, so it will not be final until that information is back. The cause of death was trauma, but a contributing factor was heart disease. His heart was enlarged with significant coronary artery disease. They said it seems likely he suffered a heart attack during deployment. He may have been alive, but unconscious when he hit the ground. This makes the most sense to me. I couldn't imagine Harry being incapacitated by a hard opening with an unstowed brake. Thanks for the information, Janna. This, at least, makes it understandable how this could happen to such a safety-conscious guy. I will truly miss Harry. He was a good friend. It was nice to finally meet you, today. I'm sorry it was under such sad circumstances. Please let us know when the Perris memorial will be; some of us from his aviation family would really like to attend, and to visit his other home-away-from-home at Perris. I had asked him about how I could do a tandem-jump (dive?) as I have never tried this. He had made it sound so exciting that I wanted to try it. Now, I am unsure if I should give up on this idea, or if it just makes me more eager to try it. Maybe visiting the Perris drop zone will help me decide. I don't know. I just know that I miss him, and that my heart goes out to you and your family. He touched so many lives, in so many ways.... With heart-felt sympathy, Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thrlskr 0 #65 October 18, 2008 I attended Harry Leicher’s memorial on Thursday, and I could not get up and say what I wanted to, so I will here. I met Harry five years ago, when he did my first phase check during my private pilot training. It was immediately obvious that he was like no other instructor. He taught me things on that flight that I never had heard from another instructor or in a book. Harry taught me to fly an airplane “by the numbers”. To make the airplane want to do what I wanted it to do by configuring and trimming, rather than to force the airplane and then trim out the resistance. He said it wasn’t lazy, reducing workload meant safer flight. Harry also recorded his lessons and then gave the tape to his students. I have many, many hours of instruction transferred to CD, including my entire instrument rating, an incredible learning tool. Harry wasn’t just an instructor, he was a teacher. He taught classes at Long Beach City College, gave FAA safety seminars, and his articles were published in AOPA Flight Training and other magazines. Harry wasn’t in it for the money, and he wasn’t trying to fill his logbook. Harry was concerned about what happened to me when he got out of the airplane. He sent me e-mails with homework assignments. He would take my call whenever he could, even on the lifecycle. He was never late, always cheerful, and always willing to help. Harry would treat me like a friend, and share with me what he loved. With him it was safety first, followed by large helpings of fun. He did everything to minimize risk, and then he stepped out of the airplane. I will miss him. Blue skies, Harry Danny Bower Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NTHRIWZ 0 #66 October 20, 2008 For those of you who weren't able to attend Harry's memorial at the Long Beach Flying Club (where he taught) this is what you missed.[url] All of the people in the group shot (against the wall) were students of Harry. We should've recorded the mike, there were some great stories. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joelsmom 0 #67 October 24, 2008 Sad to lose Harry and my condolences to Janna and their family too. Thanks for asking him to say hi to Joel, Stacey... I just know he and Joel will do some great jumps together, and hey, maybe even a few heavenly swoops (: And for certain they will take good care of one another and watch after us. Blue skies forever, Harry. Joel's Mom GailDropzone observer since August 5, 1999 when my son Joel Atkinson first jumped at Lost Prairie for his 18th birthday. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shell666 0 #68 October 28, 2008 Just got this info on his memorial: Dear Friends of Harry, You are invited to join Janna, along with Harry's skydiving, piloting, and other friends for a Harry Leicher Remembrance Day at Perris Valley Skydiving on November 9th. We'll be reminiscing and telling "Harry Stories" throughout the day, and there will be skydiving of course, starting around 9 a.m., weather permitting. We will also be organizing Harry's Ash Dive. We expect the actual ash dive to take place at about 2:00 p.m. At 5:00 p.m. we'll have a gathering of everyone in the pool area for a memorial and more Harry Stories. Join us if you can, for all, or any part of the day. And If we've missed anyone with this e-mail, please pass the word that everyone is welcome. For directions, go to http://www.skydiveperris.com/tunnel.html . Scroll down and click on "Directions"'Shell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
guppie01 0 #69 October 28, 2008 Thanks for posting Shell. Steve and I will be there to raise a glass or two. 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? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimthefireman 0 #70 November 1, 2008 Heard the sad news today. It is nice to see the forum and the familiar names from way back. Mick I see you and remember the Holden and the trips to Whenuapai, Jana it was amazing the day you two turned up on our doorstep in Auckland. From the time Harry put Helen's picture on Parachutist from the Bali Boogie to meeting you in Lombok and following your skydiving together you bring back a lot of happy memories and I know that is the way Harry would want it. Be well Jana, his loss is a burden most of all for you, but knowing him was a rush... most of all for you. blue skies! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimmie 186 #71 November 10, 2008 Fifty of Harry's friends let him fly free ysterday over Perris. There were some very funny and heartwarming "Harry" stories told in the Bomb Shelter at dusk. Al Krueger spent hours going over Harry's log book and told us about milestone jumps over his life. Harry had a truly amazing skydiving life. At the end of the evening Janna got up and spoke. She held up amazingly well, and there weren't many dry eyes in the bar when she was finished. I'll miss Harry. I always knew when I saw him at the DZ we would laugh, jump and talk airplanes. Fly Free Harry... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #72 November 10, 2008 A few ground shots of the day. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30070909&id=1539616556&ref=mf ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbrown 26 #73 November 11, 2008 Thanks Lori for the terrific pics of a very memorable afternoon. I just want to give this thread a little bumpy to keep it on top of the list for a while. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MajorDad 0 #74 November 11, 2008 Thanks for posting the pics. Eternal Blue Ones, Harry Catch you on the flip side. Major Dad CSPA D-579 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shell666 0 #75 November 12, 2008 QuoteA few ground shots of the day. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30070909&id=1539616556&ref=mf ltdiver Great pics. Thanks for sharing. Harry, I'll miss you.'Shell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
