Nationwide Information
“She was all the time there, totally current. She stored going, all the time.”
Dorothy Hoffner, a 104-year-old Chicago lady whose latest skydive might see her licensed by Guinness World Data because the oldest individual to ever leap from a aircraft, has died.
Hoffner’s shut buddy, Joe Conant, mentioned she was discovered lifeless Monday morning by workers on the Brookdale Lake View senior dwelling neighborhood. Conant mentioned Hoffner apparently died in her sleep on Sunday night time.
Conant, who’s a nurse, mentioned he met Hoffner — whom he known as Grandma at her request — a number of years in the past whereas he was working as a caregiver for an additional resident on the senior dwelling middle. He mentioned she had superb power and remained mentally sharp.
“She was indefatigable. She simply stored going,” he mentioned Tuesday. “She was not somebody who would take naps within the afternoon, or not present up for any perform, dinner or the rest. She was all the time there, totally current. She stored going, all the time.”
On Oct. 1, Hoffner made a tandem skydive that would land her within the document books because the world’s oldest skydiver. She jumped out of a aircraft from 13,500 toes (4,100 meters) at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois, 85 miles (140 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.
“Age is only a quantity,” Hoffner instructed a cheering crowd moments after touchdown. It was not her first time leaping from a aircraft — that occurred when she was a spry 100 years of age.
Conant mentioned he was working by means of paperwork to make sure that Guinness World Data certifies Hoffner posthumously because the world’s oldest skydiver, however he expects that may take a while. The present document was set in Could 2022 by 103-year-old Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson of Sweden.
Conant mentioned Hoffner didn’t skydive to interrupt a document. He mentioned she had so totally loved her first leap that she simply wished to do it once more.
“She had no intention of breaking the document. And she or he had little interest in any publicity or something. She wasn’t doing it for some other purpose than she wished to go skydiving,” he mentioned.
Skydive Chicago and america Parachute Affiliation celebrated Hoffner in a joint assertion Tuesday.
“We’re deeply saddened by Dorothy’s passing and really feel honored to have been part of making her world-record skydive a actuality.
“Skydiving is an exercise that many people safely tuck away in our bucket lists. However Dorothy reminds us that it’s by no means too late to take the fun of a lifetime. We’re ceaselessly grateful that skydiving was part of her thrilling, well-lived life,” they mentioned.
Conant mentioned Hoffner labored for greater than 4 many years as a phone operator with Illinois Bell, which later turned AT&T, and retired 43 years in the past. The lifelong Chicago resident by no means married, and Conant mentioned she had no quick relations.
A memorial service for Hoffner might be held in early November.
“She was an expensive buddy who was an inspiration,” Conant mentioned.