Dorothy Hoffner died Sunday at the age of 104 just days after she became the oldest recorded person to have skydived from a plane, The Associated Press reported.
Hoffner skydived with her US Parachute Association (USPA) instructor, Derek Baxter, on Oct. 1, 2023, at Illinois’s Skydive Chicago Airport in Ottawa, WGN 9 noted. “Age is just a number,” Hoffner had told the crowd after landing, AP reported.
The jump was her second as a centenarian, WGN 9 noted.
Joe Conant, a friend of Hoffner, described her as “indefatigable,” per AP.
“She just kept going .. She was not someone who would take naps in the afternoon, or not show up for any function, dinner or anything else,” Conant told AP. “She was always there, fully present. She kept going, always.”
Conant vowed to ensure that the paperwork was filed with Guinness World Records to certify Hoffner as the oldest recorded person to have skydived,” the outlet noted.
Dorothy Hoffner, a 104-year-old Chicago woman whose recent skydive could see her certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest person to ever jump from a plane, has died. https://t.co/uRYygz0T37
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 10, 2023
Skydrive Chicago and USPA issued a joint statement, per ABC News. “We are deeply saddened by Dorothy’s passing and feel honored to have been a part of making her world-record skydive a reality. Skydiving is an activity that many of us safely tuck away in our bucket lists,” the statement read. “But Dorothy reminds us that it’s never too late to take the thrill of a lifetime. We are forever grateful that skydiving was a part of her exciting, well-lived life. Her legacy is even more remarkable because of the attention the world gave to her inspiring story.”