Arthur, lost his life trying to save his home
Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2025 11:40 pmWe are trying to verify this report. but he is not listed in official records. We will continue to moniter.
Steve Murillo
Board Member
Dear Fellow SHGA Members and Friends,
It is with deep regret and a heavy heart that I must deliver some very sad news to the club. Our fellow friend and pilot, Arthur Simoneau, has tragically passed away trying to save his home from the fires of Topanga Canyon. I spoke to Arthur on Tuesday night when the fires first started, thinking he might need some help evacuating. He had been skiing in Mammoth, and was in Bishop, heading home, when he took my call. His plan was to get home and assess the situation. I texted him a couple times that night, letting him know about road closures. That was the last I heard from him. I finally heard from his girlfriend, Lisa, this morning. She informed me that the sheriffs had found Arthur’s body yesterday, near the doorway of his home. They surmised that he had succumbed to asphyxiation as he was trying to defend the home that he loved and had built by hand so many years ago.
Arthur was a good friend to me, and a great pilot. He always had words of flying wisdom and encouragement, and its because of Arthur that I visited many places I may have not gone otherwise, like the wild air of Lakeview, Oregon, the Owens on multiple occasions, Hat Creek Rim, King Mountain, Crestline, Dunlap, and of course our beloved Kagel Mountain. He played a key role in keeping the Yosemite launch open at Glacier Point, and is the man who recruited and trained Kia to be a site monitor this past summer. Arthur loved to fly, no matter the conditions or the duration of the flight. For him, it was the ritual of setting up and foot launching in to the open sky. True freedom.
Arthur will be missed by all of us. His son Andre has requested a service in the LZ, once his family has had a chance to recover from the tragic shock of this. He requested that he launch from the mountain on a tandem, and scatter Arthur’s ashes. I told him we’d make it happen, whatever he and his family decided to do.
Arthur’s son has started a GoFundme page for the welfare of the family. Here’s the link:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/celebrating- ... r-simoneau