The 104-year-old American, who would likely have become the world’s oldest skydiver in early October, died just over a week after her jump, before her feat was officially confirmed by the Guinness World Records.
“She was tireless. She just kept going [à vivre]. She wasn’t one to take a nap in the afternoon or not show up to a reception, dinner or anything else. She was always there, completely present. She kept going,” Joe Conant, a nurse and friend of the centenarian who met her while caring for another resident, said on Tuesday, according to The Guardian.
Local media reported that 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 world’s oldest skydiver, has died pic.twitter.com/F2rHbPyoEF
– Portal (@Portal) October 11, 2023
Dorothy Hoffner, 104, was reported to have died on Sunday evening, just over a week after she broke the Guinness record as the oldest woman skydiver on October 1 when she jumped from a plane at an altitude of 13,000 feet, about 4,100 meters .
According to the British media, this would have broken the record held by 103-year-old Swede Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson since May 2022.
“Age is just a number,” she told the small crowd gathered below to greet her after her jump at Skydive Chicago, Illinois.
Even though the centenarian didn’t jump with the goal of breaking the record, but rather out of passion for the adrenaline sport that she first tried at 100, her friend will make sure she keeps the connection to the Guinness record-breaking World Championships so that it can be authenticated posthumously.
“She had no intention of breaking the record. And she wasn’t interested in any kind of publicity or anything like that. According to The Guardian, Joe Conant continued, she did this for no other reason than skydiving. She was a dear friend who was a source of inspiration.”