A tribute to Steve Ellett

Hi, my name is Dennis McHaney.  This is a tribute to my friend Robert Steven Ellett, 1949 - 2010. Steve was my other brother.  We have been friends since 1959.  We grew up together.

Steve had a unique sense of humor.  He loved life and was larger than life.  He never missed an opportunity to turn any situation into fun.  From our mid teens to our early twenties, we captured photographic treasures of our many adventures.  In memory of Steve, and to celebrate the joy of his life, I'm sharing some of our most stupid moments with anyone who cares to appreciate our sense of adventure and fun.

Steve's early nickname was Yud Yud.  I can't remember where this came from.  More on that later.

The photo below is Steve jumping out of an airplane, narrowly missing the propeller.  He forgot to put on his parachute, but it was only a 5,000 foot drop, and he landed on his head, so he was just fine.  He was mad at me for a week for daring him to jump.

I have started this blog to share memories and images of one of the most unique individuals I have ever had the honor of knowing. If you are tuned in, Yud Yud, say hello to Cookie and both Macs.  To Steve's loved ones, please send photos and memories to add to this loving tribute.

Man of Action

Steve was always ready to rip into action!
Here are several examples. First, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Terror in the jungle!

Steve on the roof. Did I dare him to jump off?

Steve jumps off roof

Lance jumps on Steve

Steve and the bottle

Steve liked to have a brew or two on occasion, and as you can see from this early photo, he even tried moonshine when he went through his hillbilly phase. Sometimes though, he ended up in a less than dignified state, as can be seen in the bottom two photos.

That middle photo is actually quite scary.  It was shot in
front of 3400 S. Perkins, a dangerous stretch of road.  It was crazy for Steve to be crawling in the gutter there, even in front of a parked car, and even scarier that I was where I was to take that picture.  I could have gotten taken out by a big rig at any second.

We were too young to really know much about serious drinking at that point.  We thought that the ultimate in drinking was to end up drunk and in the gutter.