Dorothy Hoffner, 104, is believed to be the oldest person in the world to skydive. She died in her sleep in Chicago a week after her jump, her friend said.
Dorothy Hoffner, 104, died in her sleep Oct. 9 a week after potentially breaking the world record for the oldest skydiver. Last week, a 104-year-old woman looked down about 13,500 feet from an airplane and prepared to jump. When Dorothy Hoffner began her skydive, she embraced the freedom of soaring through the air while marveling at the grassy landscape of Ottawa, Ill.After Hoffner landed, a crowd of spectators cheered while TV reporters chased her for interviews.
The trio ate dinner together almost every night, and Hoffner started calling Conant her grandson, Conant said. Hoffner was known for carrying candy — Heath bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and dark-chocolate Hershey’s Kisses — in her walker. She stayed active, walking 4½ blocks to the grocery store multiple times a week and going on walks to
Ahead of the skydive, local news outlets reported on Hoffner, who didn’t like the publicity, Conant said. She joked with Conant that she was going to give him a black eye if she had to do interviews, Conant said. But she grew to like the attention as she built relationships with reporters, Conant said.On Oct. 1, about 75 spectators arrived at Skydive Chicago’s hangar as Hoffner pushed her red walker toward a white Skyvan plane.
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