Memorial service Sunday for Snohomish sky diver Landon Atkin

SNOHOMISH — Calvin Atkin well remembers the father-and-son talks.

He would urge his son to be serious about school and think about a career.

And Landon would tell him: “I’m not you, Dad. I’m not going to have a 9-to-5 job my whole life.”

“In some ways, I’m jealous of him,” the father said.

Calvin Atkin knows his son relentlessly pursued what he found most fulfilling in life.

On the eve of his son’s memorial service, he wants people to remember Lan­don as someone who was always pushing the limits, first in snowboarding when he would race down mountains going as fast and jumping as high as he could, and then drumming for his rock band.

Landon spent much of last summer at Harvey Field in Snohomish packing parachutes to make money for his newest and greatest passion: sky diving.

“For every dime he made, he spent it jumping,” the father said.

Landon was determined to log enough jumps to become certified in time to take his sister, Shaylene, on her first tandem jump when she turned 16 in November 2009.

He won’t be able to give her that birthday present. Landon Edward Atkin, 20, was one of 10 people with Harvey Field-based Skydive Snohomish to die Oct. 7 in a plane crash near White Pass. A memorial service is set for 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Maltby Christian Assembly Church, 21300 99th Ave. SE, Snohomish.

At the service, his family will show a video called “My life 101” that Landon produced while a student at Cascadia Community College in Bothell.

“It was so creative and so Landon,” his father said. Calvin Atkin hopes people leave the service smiling and laughing in his son’s memory.

Landon left a lasting impression on people near and far.

Margo Mitchell and three of her friends met the Snohomish parachute packer last August at Harvey Field, the day she was making her first skydiving jump.

“All of the people we met were extremely friendly and fun-loving,” said Mitchell, a graduate student at Towson University near Baltimore, Md. “Landon stood out even in that crowd, teaching us to unicycle while we waited to skydive and inviting us to a cookout that night with the close-knit group at Snohomish.”

Over s’mores, they joked about how Landon was multi-talented enough to be in the circus.

Even after she returned to Maryland, Landon would e-mail her information about where she could continue sky-diving lessons closer to home.

“He was unpretentious, welcoming, warm, funny, generous, complimentary and relatable, to name a few (qualities),” Mitchell said. “He had true character and genuine kindness, which is a rarity. The world would be a better place if everyone would strive to be half as genuine and open as he was.”

Landon was well-liked at Snohomish High School, where he graduated in 2005.

“He was one of those kids I remember very well,” said Bill Nicolay, who taught a modern poetry course. “It’s funny how certain kids stick out in your mind. He was one of those kids.”

Landon loved poetry and would come in early to get help writing sonnets.

What struck Nicolay more than his prose was how well Landon treated classmates.

“He was a very kind person, very polite and was very concerned about the welfare of others,” the teacher said.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or e-mail stevick@heraldnet.com.