Friends jump together in honor of skydiving victims
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
Scott Hunter clutched his cell phone and stared at two Cessna planes hovering about 10,000 feet above him.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
"Here they go," he yelled into the phone to his dad in Idaho. "They're going to jump."
Friends of skydiver Greg Hunter perform a memorial jump just prior to spreading his ashes over Dillingham Airfield. Hunter, a tandem master instructor, and his student, Margaret Jean Thomas, died during a jump last week.
At 5:45 p.m. yesterday eight veteran skydivers jumped in honor of Scott's brother, tandem master instructor Greg Hunter, who plummeted to his death in tandem with 18-year-old student Margaret Jean Thomas, in Mokule'ia on Dec. 22.
The eight jumpers linked arms, as they released a bag of Greg Hunter's ashes into the air that he so often soared, into the ocean he loved so much.
"Fly your tails off, guys," yelled out Ken "Tugie" Anderson, co-owner of Drop Zone, the company Greg Hunter worked for. "Bring it in."
Then the jumpers scattered like the ashes, releasing their parachutes and sailing through the twilight in a parade of colors and movement. The dozens of people who attended, mostly from the close-knit skydiving community, quietly watched.
About 20 minutes earlier the planes had flown overhead and dropped bags full of flowers directly over the waiting crowd.
Sitting in a golf cart, Anderson smiled for the first time yesterday, as he watched the state's best jumpers honor his friend.
"Arlington Cemetery's got nothing on us," he said, obviously proud of the jumpers. "We know how to throw a service."
Yesterday's memorial service at Dillingham Airfield was nothing ordinary, with attendees in shorts and tank tops gripping bottles of Coors Light and Corona. But neither was the 44-year-old Waialua resident who was a charter boat operator, a volunteer firefighter, a kayaker, a mountain rescue climber, a sailor, a fisherman, a snow-cat driver and a tugboatman.
"Greg was a wonderful man, a great individual," Anderson said at the service prior to the memorial jump. "He had such a great love for life. He cared for everyone but himself, often going in need to help others ... I think all of us can say he has touched our lives."
Anderson was on crutches yesterday. He nearly died in a jump last year, when his chute opened less than 100 feet from the ground. He landed in a tree first, before hitting the ground, breaking bones but not his spirit. Greg Hunter had visited Anderson during his recovery, talking story, and encouraging him to get better.
"The Lord spoke to me the other night," Anderson said. "As tragic as this is, wouldn't you like to go out doing what you love? That parachute did open, it opened beautifully. And they flew through the pearly gates with the softest landing."
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
The portable building that houses Drop Zone's office doubled as a memorial to its instructor. The Andersons set up a table with flowers and photos of Greg Hunter, smiling like he couldn't help it.
Richard Doppelmayer, left, J.C. Colclasure, center, and Jason Askerooth were among the friends who jumped yesterday over Dillingham Airfield in honor of fellow skydiver Greg Hunter.
As "Aloha 'Oe" played over the speakers, people crammed into the tight quarters to watch a video honoring Greg Hunter, who couldn't hide his love of jumping; it showed through his bearded grin and his smiling eyes.
"He was so full of life," said Jennifer Homcy, 30, a sea captain who worked with Greg Hunter at Deep Ecology on the North Shore. "I'll miss seeing him drive by on his motorcycle with that big ol' smile. When you saw him, he was this little burst of energy cruising through the world."
Scott Hunter had flown from Kellogg, Idaho to attend the service on behalf of his family, still dealing with the sudden loss.
He wanted everyone to know this memorial service wasn't just to honor his brother, but to remember Margaret Jean Thomas, the student from Papillion, Neb., who also died in the jump.
Her brother, Justin Thomas, an infantryman with Company C, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment at Schofield Barracks, couldn't attend the service. But his friends in the regiment came on his behalf.
"I knew, even before I knew the details, that Greg did everything he could to save her," Scott Hunter said about the teenage mother who had received the jump as a Christmas gift. "He would have easily, in a heartbeat, given up his life for hers."
His family is indescribably grateful for the comfort and support they have received from Justin Thomas, who has been strong through the tragedy, Scott Hunter said.
During the service he read a letter from his mother, who spent the last week remembering her adventurous son who played with Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs, who built his own catapult, who figured out how to safely jump off the roof and land in the snow.
"That was something I wasn't going to do," Scott Hunter said with a laugh. "But he taught me how to do it, and do it right. 'You just don't go jumping off the roof and land in the snow,' he said. That's how he was."
Friends said safety was Greg Hunter's first priority. In everything, from skydiving to steering boats and riding his motorcycle. That he died tandem skydiving, a sport that rarely sees fatalities, stunned the community.
"It's extremely safe," said master instructor Chuck Baker, 44, who has been jumping for 15 years. "Sometimes there are circumstances that cause accidents to happen. It's a rare occurrence. But you never know."
Baker, an instructor with Skydive Hawaii, had known Greg Hunter for about three years. He said he felt honored to participate in the memorial jump — his third and hopefully, he said, his last.
"We like to remember our brothers," Baker said. "It was a fantastic feeling. I kept thinking Greg was right there with me. He's enjoying it as much as I am."
At about 6 p.m., when the crowd started to disperse, heading to the tables of food or the coolers of beer, Scott Hunter stood alone. Cradling a Corona he stared out into the purpling sky, fading into the sunset.
He knew his brother was watching.
"He's loving this for sure," he said with a smile. "This is all good."
Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.
