peek 21 #1 June 25, 2016 IagoAndy 'Popsjumper' 'Bongo' Whitlock has passed away in Tampa due to illness. Unfortunately I have not been paying attention and did not notice that he had not posted here in a while. He was always very helpful to his fellow jumpers that asked questions here. This is a huge loss to us all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stratostar 5 #2 June 25, 2016 Blue skies brother, the dives we did were always a lot of fun, I always remember that 3way we did and landed off.... Everyone said, you let Andy spot! RIP Andy, you'll be missed by many.you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Broke 0 #3 June 25, 2016 Andy will be missed. He was on my SCR jump at Sky fest 08. The skydiving community lost a great guy.Divot your source for all things Hillbilly. Anvil Brother 84 SCR 14192 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #4 June 25, 2016 Andy was a friend to dz.com, and to so many of the southern jumpers. We will miss his great laugh and smiling face. He was a pain to moderate on here sometimes, but he always welcomed me with a hug in person and didn't hold it against me that I had to be stern with him. 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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzdiva 7 #5 June 25, 2016 Fly Free!"It's not just a daydream if you choose to make it your life..." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bolas 5 #6 June 25, 2016 Just one story of his generosity. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4380159;search_string=Popsjumper;#4380159 Blue Skies Forever Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diverdriver 6 #7 June 25, 2016 Oh man Popsjumpers. Blue Skies. You were a great part of the fabric of skydiving and DZ.com.Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nolhtairt 0 #8 June 25, 2016 Andy was one of the good ones. Always could count on seeing him at The Farm, right up until the day he announced he was moving on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeorgiaDon 379 #9 June 26, 2016 This sucks. I did a lot of jumps with Andy back in his Monroe days. I knew he'd stopped jumping, but I'd always hoped to run into him again. Back when he was a "young jumper" (55 years old!)with only 70 jumps, in 2004, he organized the first Georgia POPS record jump. It was only a 12-way but it was a lot of fun. The bottom photo in this link shows the group, Andy is the one with the big smile standing in back in the very middle. Blue skies Andy. Don_____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #10 June 27, 2016 You will be missed friend Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weegegirl 2 #11 June 27, 2016 Sad to hear this news. What a nice guy. BSBD. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,406 #12 June 27, 2016 Andy, Gary McMahan & I used to organize at the SkyFest events together. Andy had the energy, enthusiasm and zest for life that would rival any 20 year old. He was a staunch believer in "Paying it Skyward." He had a great sense of humor and an intellectual wit. In the evenings we'd sit at Gary's RV while Gary & I would sip some Forty Creek and just watch the skydiver evening antics & rituals. Thank you for the memories, Brothers. You will both be missed and my heart is heavy today. Here's Andy saying goodbye to Gary and now I say RIP & Blue Skies to both. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3881791;search_string=gary%20mcmahan;#3881791 Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dthames 0 #13 June 27, 2016 skymama Andy was a friend to dz.com, and to so many of the southern jumpers. We will miss his great laugh and smiling face. He was a pain to moderate on here sometimes, but he always welcomed me with a hug in person and didn't hold it against me that I had to be stern with him. When I first started jumping I scanned many posts looking for helpful information. Andy was one of about four people that I identified as someone that I could learn from, even on the Internet. I became friends with Andy and later got to meet him in person, after he retired. Andy was a great encourager.Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!” Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1001001sos 0 #14 July 31, 2016 Andy you cantankerous pain in the ass. Who am i going to argue with now? I'm so glad I got to meet you and become friends. We got several good years in there. Heck almost a decade's worth Glad you got to learn to sail. I know from your FB posts you really enjoyed it. And I enjoyed getting to see it happen for you even if it was from afar. Speaking of FB, just a couple of months ago you said to me, "You really should unblock so and so, life is too short. You made your point to them, now it's time to let it go and mend the fences." Wasn't much I could say to you about it, cause like 99% of the time, you were right. Hopefully you're somewhere reading this. And just so you know I'm going to heed your advice, once again. I suspect it won't be the last time I heed your advice either. Take care, until we meet again. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
danielcroft 2 #15 August 18, 2016 RIP, Andy. He was a good presence here on dz.com. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpwally 0 #16 September 19, 2016 Im surprised that there has been no addt'l info for such a popular guy on this website,,,how long was he sick, memorial,,ash dive , etc, ? has everything migrated to FB ? smile, be nice, enjoy life FB # - 1083 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rick 67 #17 September 21, 2016 ran across this on my computer today good times sure do miss him You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nigel99 568 #18 September 22, 2016 jumpwally Im surprised that there has been no addt'l info for such a popular guy on this website,,,how long was he sick, memorial,,ash dive , etc, ? has everything migrated to FB ? It was Andys wish that no fuss was made and he did not want an ash dive. He had been sick for quite a long time, but really played it down. He left dz.com ages back as he really couldn't stay out of speakers corner and didn't want to get banned, so he removed himself from the picture Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpwally 0 #19 September 22, 2016 As he wishes,,,,bummer smile, be nice, enjoy life FB # - 1083 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TriGirl 333 #20 October 18, 2016 Damn. So sad to hear this. Met Andy at Fitz a number of years back and greeted him with a three-limb hug. I agree with so many on here that he was such a great mentor, whether in person or on here, to new jumpers. Solid, consistent advice, and patient as hell. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpsalot-2 3 #21 October 19, 2016 Altitude ... Altitude ... Altitude ...Life is short ... jump often. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FastDaniel 0 #23 November 21, 2016 Fly free. :( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meso 38 #24 November 23, 2016 Can't believe I am only seeing this now. Was wondering why I hadn't seen him posting recently, then saw the title of this thread. He definitely brought life to these forums and we'll miss his presence here :/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
