Dorothy Hoffner, a 104-year-old Chicago lady who just established a record by skydiving, has died.
Hoffner died before Guinness World Records certified him as the oldest person to ever leap out of a plane.
Joe Conant, a close friend, claimed she was discovered dead by workers at the Brookdale Lake View senior living complex on Monday morning, Oct. 9. Conant stated that Hoffner died in her sleep on Sunday night, October 8.
Conant, a nurse, said he met Hoffner — whom he nicknamed Grandma at her request — several years ago while working as a caretaker for another senior living home resident. He claimed she had boundless energy and stayed cognitively alert.
“She was unflappable. “She just kept going,” he explained on Tuesday, October 10. “She was not the type to take afternoon naps or skip out on any function, dinner, or other event.” She was always completely present. She never stopped going.”
Hoffner made a tandem skydive on Oct. 1 that could put her in the record books as the world’s oldest skydiver. She jumped out of a plane at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois, about 85 miles (140 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.
“Age is just a number,” Hoffner addressed the throng as he touched down. It wasn’t her first time leaping out of a plane; she did it when she was 100 years old.
Conant said he was working on paperwork to ensure that Guinness World Records recognizes Hoffner as the world’s oldest skydiver posthumously, but that it might take some time. Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson, 103, of Sweden set the current record in May 2022.
Conant stated that Hoffner did not skydive to set a record. He stated that she had completely loved her first jump and wished to repeat again.
“She had no plans to break the record.” And she was uninterested in any kind of publicity. “She was only doing it because she wanted to go skydiving,” he explained.
In a joint statement issued Tuesday, Oct. 10, Skydive Chicago and the United States Parachute Association congratulated Hoffner.
“We are deeply saddened by Dorothy’s death and feel honored to have contributed to her world-record skydive.”
“Many of us securely tuck skydiving away on our bucket lists. However, Dorothy reminds us that it is never too late to experience the excitement of a lifetime. “We will be eternally grateful that skydiving was a part of her exciting, full life,” they stated.
Conant stated that Hoffner worked as a telephone operator for Illinois Bell, which eventually became AT&T, for more than four decades and retired 43 years ago. Conant, who has lived in Chicago her entire life, has never married and has no direct family members. Hoffner’s memorial service will be place in early November.
