By Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune
In the days before Dorothy Hoffner was scheduled to break the world record to become the oldest skydiver ever, she dreamed she was in free fall. The sensation woke her up, she said.
A week after setting the record, the 104-year-old has finally landed. She died peacefully in her sleep Monday, her close friend Joe Conant told the Tribune.
The death of the dear friend he called “grandma” came unexpectedly, he said.
“She was just indefatigable. She just kept going,” Conant said.
He remembered Hoffner, a lifelong Chicagoan, for her lively spark and eagerness to talk with other people. She was witty and with it in her old age, he said.
And, indeed, the world met her indomitable spirit last week. News of her record skydive spread alongside pictures and video of her jump. She smiled as she fell, goggles protecting her determined eyes.
When Hoffner landed from the 13,500-foot fall, she popped up quickly, grabbed her walker and shuffled over to the crowd that had just cheered on her historic achievement.
“Age is only a number, ya’ know?” she told reporters.
The incredible feat gave Hoffner the perfect opportunity for one of her last pranks. The day after she jumped, family came to visit her at her Brookdale Lake View senior living community. She hadn’t told them anything about her skydiving.
When they arrived, Hoffner handed them a copy of the Chicago Tribune. She was on the front page, parachuting to Earth in a large photo.
“Chicagoan sets record as oldest skydiver,” the headline read.
“Dorothy, you never told us you went skydiving!” her family said, according to Conant.
“Well, you never asked!” Hoffner replied.
Millions of people heard of Hoffner’s story. A viral sensation, the centenarian became the subject of a New York Times article, the target of a late-night TV joke and a darling of cable morning shows. She appeared in a story written by a Chinese outlet and appeared on a Mexican broadcast.
The media attention at first irked Hoffner. She told the Tribune weeks before her jump that she planned to bring a cold steak to Skydive Chicago. She planned to sock Conant in the eye for spreading word of the record attempt, and he’d need to ice it, she joked.
“She wasn’t doing it because of the world record. She was doing it because she wanted to go skydiving,” Conant said.
But although Hoffner may have struggled to understand how far her inspiring story spread — after all, she didn’t own a smartphone — she savored her newfound popularity, Conant said. Each interview became an opportunity for the people lover to chat and make a new friend.
She was getting requests for around five interviews per day. A German magazine had flown a reporter and photographer to Chicago and planned to have dinner with her Monday, Conant said.
The 104-year-old hadn’t seemed to age at all in the last decade, he said. She never napped or canceled plans.
“It came as quite a shock,” he said of her death. “She gave an incredible amount of her spirit and life to all of us, and it inspired all of us.”
Conant had expected her to keep living. He had even hoped they’d skydive again, he said Tuesday morning.
But when asked after her jump what she hoped to do next, Hoffner shared a desire to ride in a hot-air balloon. She wanted to go up.
Funeral arrangements are expected in early November, Conant said.
