A 104-year-old woman from Chicago, Dorothy Hoffner, passed away on Monday morning following her remarkable achievement of breaking the world record for the oldest skydiver, reports the NY Post. The news of her death was shared by a spokesperson from Skydive Chicago & U.S. Parachute Association with the Chicago Sun-Times.
Although the cause of her death has not been disclosed yet, Hoffner’s life was described as
“exciting and well-lived.”
On October 1, she fearlessly leaped out of an airplane at Skydive Chicago Airport in Ottawa, Illinois, safely landing after jumping from a height of 13,500 feet. With this incredible achievement, she surpassed the previous record set in 2022 by a 103-year-old Swedish woman named Linnéa Ingegärd. The team at Skydive Chicago is currently collaborating with Guinness to officially recognize her accomplishment.
Hoffner’s skydiving journey began years ago at the age of 100 when she needed a gentle nudge to make her first jump, reports reveal. In her own words,
“Age is just a number,”
which she confidently declared to the crowd after completing her record-setting seven-minute jump.
“Skydiving is an activity that many of us safely tuck away in our bucket lists,”
the Skydive Chicago spokesperson told The Sun-Times. “But Dorothy reminds us that it’s never too late to take the thrill of a lifetime.”
Witnesses described Dorothy Hoffner as
“calm and confident”
when the door of the Skyvan plane opened, revealing the Midwest landscape more than 2.5 miles below. Photographs captured her smiling as she landed alongside the certified instructor in a grassy area.
“The whole thing was delightful, wonderful, couldn’t have been better,”
Hoffner, who would have turned 105 in December, told the outlet.
According to the paper, Hoffner shared with reporters that after her recent jump, she planned on inviting her 109-year-old neighbor to join her on the next descent. She expressed that she wanted to experience riding in a hot air balloon next.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
