In Snohomish, feeling of loss overwhelming

SNOHOMISH -- The tragedy made national news. But the grieving is local in this town where everyone has watched joyful young men and women float to earth, where sky diving is just part of the scenery.

On Wednesday, people who call Snohomish home kept their neighbors in their prayers.

At the Stocker family's produce stand next door to Harvey Field, talk was of the nine Snohomish-based sky divers who perished along with their pilot in a crash near White Pass in the Cascade Range.

Many people in town knew the victims. Everybody, it seems, knows the Harveys.

"It breaks our hearts that something like this happens to any family," Janet Stocker said, the tears welling in her eyes.

The Stocker and Harvey families are among pioneers who cultivated and shaped the valley together. Their lives are intertwined, Stocker said.

"It's too soon right now," she said. "Most people are still in a stage of shock and sadness."

Elaine Harvey, who runs and manages Skydive Snoho­mish at the airport, said she has received many bouquets of colorful flowers, cards and notes from people in the community. E-mails of condolence have come in from all over the world.

"Anytime you go through an event like this, you will find out who really cares," Harvey said. "You will find out the impact that your business and your passion have on so many people."

Sky divers live in a tight-knit community. So do people in Snohomish, a city of about 9,000. People send their children to the same schools. Neighbors watch out for each other.

"I'm very sad. It's a very tragic thing to lose a group of young people," said Lin Hill, who with his wife Lorene owns an auto repair shop across the street from the airport.

From their office, the Hills often watch sky divers swoop toward the ground beneath their colorful canopies. On Tuesday, they watched news crews flock to the airport. Lorene Hill said she sent an e-mail to Kandace Harvey, the airport's owner, offering condolences.

"In a time of sorrow, most of us want to be left alone," she said.

Her business has repaired vans for Skydive Snohomish. Two of her employees, Nathan Oppie and Dion Zacharias, used to work in Everett with Andrew Smith, one of the victims.

"What do you think? Do you think it really happened?" Oppie asked Zacharias on Wednesday morning.

"Not at all," Zacharias said.

They remembered Smith, 20, of Lake Stevens as an energetic, fearless friend who lived for the moment. Smith once jumped off a tall cliff into a lake in Eastern Washington, they said. In the water, he was seen screaming and smiling, having a blast.

Snohomish is ready to show its support for the victims' families and friends when they need it, city manager Larry Bauman said. The Harveys' plans for the airport's growth have stirred controversy, but nobody seemed to be talking about that Wednesday.

"I don't think that's an issue for anybody in terms of dealing with the personal tragedy," Bauman said.

The airport sits across the Snohomish River from the city's historic downtown. People who live and work there have sent flowers to the airport, said Julie Terrell, owner of a gift shop on First Street.

"Everybody in the community will be more than willing to offer support in any way they can," Terrell said.

Foxglove Floral put together a bouquet on behalf of downtown merchants, said Gerri Kaylor, the flower shop's owner. "It's very hard," Kaylor said. "I haven't talked about it much because I know I will start crying."

A memorial service for the 10 men and women has yet to be scheduled, Elaine Harvey said.

She is looking for a place to hold a big crowd.

"We are very touched and grateful to the members of the community who have reached out and expressed their concern and love," she said.



Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.