Tonto

Although I haven't made a skydive in over two years, I occasionally check the dropzone.com memorial forum hoping not to see any recognizable names. Today, sadly, I found a very recognizable one. Eric "Tonto" Stephenson, a South African guy I only met once, but interacted with online regularly, died today of complications from a swoop gone bad.

The one time I met him was at a skydiving convention in Arizona. In addition to being one of the sport's best teachers and safety advocates, he was also extremely funny. I recall that much of the time I spent around him was in laughter.

He died on his ~5,300th skydive.