104-Year-Old Woman Dies After Going Viral Over Skydiving Trip

(RepublicanPress.org) – Born in 1918, Chicago resident Dorothy Hoffner left the Brookdale Lake View senior living center on October 1, boarded a small plane, strapped herself to a diving expert from Skydive Chicago, and made history. At 104, she is believed to have become the oldest person to skydive. But that wasn’t her first rodeo. Hoffner jumped out of a plane for the first time four years earlier at the age of 100.

On October 10, The New York Times reported that the elderly daredevil died in her sleep Sunday night of unknown causes. However, her recent feat means that she will not only live on in the hearts of her friends but is also expected to be memorialized in the Guinness Book of World Records where she holds the title of the oldest person in the world to skydive. According to The Chicago Tribune, Hoffner described her time in the sky as “nice” and “peaceful” and indicated she enjoyed the feeling of floating because it was “so smooth.”

104-YEAR-OLD WOMAN DIES ONE WEEK AFTER SKYDIVING

LOOK: Dorothy Hoffner, the 104-year-old Chicago woman who jumped from a plane a week ago in what is believed to be a new world record for the oldest skydiver in the world, died on Monday, Oct. 9, according to Skydive Chicago &… pic.twitter.com/fnB7VhNYOk

— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) October 11, 2023

After her 10,000-foot jump, Hoffner said the only reason anybody cared that she hopped out of a plane was because of her age. She also noted that her action garnered unwanted attention. The 104-year-old didn’t see the jump as some big brave thing because she simply attached herself to a professional who did all the work.

The New York Times reported that by the end of the week, Hoffner changed her mind about all the interviews and interest, seeing her newfound fame as an “opportunity to meet new people.” Still, her friend and nurse, Joe Conant, said she recently turned down a televised interview on “The Drew Barrymore Show” with a, “No, I’m good.” Mr. Conant said Hoffner was kind and witty and told him just the other day that she aimed to go skydiving again. She regularly referred to the nurse as her grandson. The last time he saw her, he said Ms. Hoffner appeared to be happy.