Wayne County Wanderings: Honoring the memory of Jeff Chorba one year after his tragic death

A little over a year ago, our community suffered a devastating loss with the tragic death of Jeffrey Chorba.

The much-loved 52-year-old was paramotoring in the skies above Beach Lake on May 13, 2022. Unfortunately, at around 7:30 on that fateful morning, his equipment malfunctioned and he crashed near Barracuda Boulevard just off Rte. 652.

A 911 call went out about 20 minutes later, triggering a rapid response from local emergency personnel. Sadly, there was nothing anyone could do to help and Jeff was pronounced dead at the scene by Wayne County Coroner Edward Howell.

Jeff’s passing sent shockwaves through the community. It also catalyzed a tremendous outpouring of support for the Chorba Family, particularly Jeff’s mother, Eileen, who’d also lost her husband, Ron, just a few months earlier.

“It still seems unreal,” Eileen said a year after her son’s heartbreaking accident. “But, I know Ron and Jeff would not want me to be sad. They’d both want me to stay positive each day.”

From 2022: Paramotor enthusiasts recall memories of pilot who died in northern Poconos crash

A life well-lived

Jeff was born November 10, 1969 to Ronald and Eileen Chorba.

He graduated Honesdale High School as a member of the Class of 1987. Jeff attended Temple University where he studied Landscape Architecture and later continued his education at Luzerne County Community College.

Jeff worked at Woodloch Pines for many years, but eventually started his own business in computers and consulting.

His interests outside work were many and varied. Suffice it to say that Jeff loved the outdoors, enjoying all sorts of activities from kayaking and canoeing to snowboarding and rappelling.

Jeff discovered paramotoring about five years before his death and fell in love with it almost instantly. From the first day he shared this new passion with his parents, they new instinctively felt that their son had found his niche.

“It was his therapy,” Eileen said. “Jeff always told me he was at peace when he was up there. And, it was true. You could just see it in his eyes.”

As with all his other endeavors, Jeff shared his love of paramotoring with anyone who’d listen. In fact, the sport opened up an entirely new world for him that included a group of fellow adventurers that welcomed him with open arms. He loved to go flying with these friends and to share new experiences with them.

However, his favorite habit was cruising the skies not far from home at sunrise and sunset … breathing in the pure, country air and just nourishing his soul with beauty.

A moving tribute

To mark the first anniversary of Jeff’s tragic passing, one of his closest friends came up with a wonderful idea to honor him.

Joe Parker, local airplane pilot and fellow paramotoring enthusiast, decided to create a mural from a remarkable action photo Eileen took of her son. The original picture shows Jeff soaring high above Beach Lake, outlined against a brilliant blue sky and passing directly in front of a nearly full moon.

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime shot, the kind of image you’d expect to see prominently displayed in a gallery or featured on the pages of National Geographic.

Joe works as a computer expert for Prompton Tool in Honesdale. He decided to ask business owner Susan Rollison if he could mount the image on the side of their building. She loved the idea and quickly assented, leaving Joe to figure out the logistics.

The picture itself is unforgettable, a dazzling bit of photography capturing Jeff at the perfect moment doing what he loved.

“Jeff absolutely loved that photo,” Joe said with a sad smile. “He had it framed and hanging in his house. He even put it online and had a bunch of copies made so he could hand them out to whoever wanted one.”

Joe quickly got to work, teaming up with the talented folks at Thornton Graphix in Old Forge. There, led by Billy Thornton, Nate Marold and Nate Papageorgio, Joe’s idea quickly began taking tangible form.

Thornton Graphix specializes in creating large signs and banners for everything from schools and businesses to fire companies and delivery trucks.

In this case, they digitally enlarged and enhanced the original photo, blowing it up to an 8 foot by 8 foot image. The Thornton Graphix crew divided it into four square panels, then handed them off to Joe and his colleagues at Prompton Tool.

There, a volunteer team that included Paul Bates, Jason Marold, Griffon Seales and Bob Rickert built a heavy duty wooden frame. They then mounted it to the brick exterior of the Prompton Tool building and carefully affixed the photo panels.

The beautiful image of Jeff Chorba paramotoring a thousand feet in the air now looks down on Sunrise Avenue for all to see. It’s a thought that brings a little bit of comfort to Joe, who had known Jeff since back in the 1990s.

“I first got to know Jeff at the Welcome Lake Fire Company,” Joe said. “I was on the Dive Team and he was the Fire Department Treasurer. He was such a great guy, really dedicated.”

It was years after they first became friends that Jeff mentioned paramotoring to Joe. By that time, Joe had started working IT at Prompton Tool. One day he needed to reach out to Jeff with a computer issue he couldn’t solve.

“When we were done, Jeff told me that he’d found a new sport and thought I should check it out,” Joe said. “He took me out to Hector’s Field over by Welcome Lake and introduced me to paramotoring. As soon as I saw him go up, I knew I had to try it.”

Jeff gave Joe a bit of rudimentary training, even let him use some of his equipment. And, it wasn’t long before the two friends were exploring the skies in tandem. All told, the pair ended up flying together nearly 50 times.

“We went to all kinds of cool places,” Joe said. “One of my favorites was over by the Nicholson Aqueduct. It was so beautiful and so much fun.”

Joe went on to say how grateful he was to Jeff for initiating him into this exciting new fraternity. He also shared the fact that Jeff had touched countless lives with his kindness, patience and generosity.

“Jeff was a great guy,” Joe said. “He’d do anything for anybody. I miss him every day. But, I feel like he’s always up there with us any time we fly.”

Of interest: How safe are powered parachutes? Pennsylvania paramotor pilots discuss the sport

Never forgotten

And so, just one day before the first anniversary of Jeff’s death, a small group of family and friends gathered in the parking lot of Prompton Tool.

Jeff’s Mom was front and center to witness the unveiling. It’s been an unimaginably rough 18 months for Eileen, whose entire life was upended by the deaths of first her husband and then her son.

Thankfully, the outpouring of love she’s experienced from the community has provided a measure of comfort in her grief.

“I am still overwhelmed with the support I have received from my family and friends this past year,” Eileen said. “Jeff touched so many lives and I’m grateful for Joe to have the photo of Jeff’s passion for flying, displayed for the community to see.”

On Monday afternoon after taking a couple of days to process everything, Eileen sent me a few thoughts about her son: a genuinely good man who cared deeply for his fellow humans and left the world a better place than he’d found it.

“Memories of Jeff, sad and happy, have been in my heart every day since May 13, 2022,” said Eileen who is an award winning nature photographer.

“I think of Jeff when I hear the beautiful flute like melody of the Wood Thrush singing throughout the woods early morning and again at dusk. Those were mainly the times when Jeff would fly.

“This was God’s plan and I know in my heart we will all be together again.”

The memorial mural in honor of Jeff Chorba will remain on display throughout the summer at Prompton Tool on Sunrise Avenue. All are welcome to view it.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Wayne County Wanderings: Remembering Jeff Chorba one year after tragedy