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Light a Candle
Bobby Frierson was born in Abingdon, Virginia on June 13, 1932 and died in a skydiving accident on September 11, 2005 in Monroge, Georgia. Bobby was the middle child of Dr. W.C. Frierson and Mary Bowman Frierson. He was the little brother of John Frierson and the older brother of identical twins Maggie Frierson Young and Kathy Frierson Sanders. Maggie died from muscle cancer in 1991. Bobby's father was a Presbyterian pastor. They moved all the time. Bobby grew up in an Irish American family. Bobby's family eventually settled down in Denmark, South Carolina. Bobby graduated from Denmark-Olar High School in 1950. Bobby later enrolled in the army after graduating from college and fought in The Korean War. It was there that he learned how to skydive. He was a 1954 graduate of Clemson University where he got a degree in horticulture. Bobby was eventually reactivated and flew in the air force during the Berlin crisis. Bobby was a well known skydiver in South Carolina. At the time of his death he made over 6,000 jumps. In addition to skydiving Bobby was a crop duster, a jump pilot, a horticulturist, and a state constable. After marrying his high school sweetheart Ann Utesy they had four children named Connie, Elizabeth, Vance, and Cliff. Ann later divorced Bobby. Ann and Bobby had joint custody of their children after the divorce. After he divorced Ann Bobby re-married Monika Langehans. Monika and Bobby had no children. They divorced in 1980. Bobby eventually married his skydiving sweetheart Joan Latimer Frierson on October 16, 1980. They lived in Blackville, South Carolina. On January 28, 1987 Joan and Bobby welcomed their daughter Cayce. Prior to the stroke Bobby ran Free Fall Farms at The Barnwell Airport with his friend Woody Binnicker. Woody eventually retired from skydiving. Bobby continued to skydive until the time of his death. In 1973 Bobby and Woody were featured in The Book of World Records for breaking the skydiving record. Bobby flew the entire time and Woody jumped. Bobby and Woody founded Vikings of Denmark. After surviving a stroke on January 30, 2000 Joan, Bobby, and Cayce moved to West Columbia, South Carolina. Bobby retired and remained in West Columbia until the time of his death. Prior to the stroke he had a lung clot on December 25, 1999. In 1997 Bobby helped Cheryl Stearns break the record for making the most jumps at night. This was done at Skydive Raeford in Raeford, NC. Bobby flew Cheryl the entire time. In 1996 Bobby was the aerial coordinator and pilot for the movie "Ripe". Together Bobby and Ann had five grandchildren named Callie, Ethan, Isabel, Emily, and Evan. On September 11, 2005 Bobby was skydiving at Skydive Monroe. The other two jumps had gone well. He was doing free fall during a three way jump with his friend Nick Alvanos. Nick was the one who encouraged Bobby to start skydiving again. Something went wrong with his parachute. The reserve handle for his parachute somehow got away from him. He couldn't grab the handle again in time to save his life. After the parachute got tangled in a tree Bobby died instantly from his chest and abdominal injuries. Bobby was 73 years old when he died. Bobby is buried in Denmark, SC in Denmark Cemetery next to his parents and his sister. After Bobby's death he and Ann gained eight great grandchildren named Josiah, Evangeline, Adele, Halle, Jude, Lilyanna, Asher, and Hazel.
