Dorothy Hoffner, the 104-year-old Chicagoan who set the world record as the oldest person to parachute from a plane, died Monday evening.
A spokesperson for Hoffner said they were honored the skydiving experience was able to serve as an incredible cap to her “exciting, well-lived life.”
On Oct. 1, the lifelong Chicagoan jumped from a plane at Skydive Chicago Airport in Ottawa, Illinois, about 80 miles southwest of Chicago, saying “there was nothing scary about it.”
She broke the Guinness World Record for the oldest tandem parachute jump set in 2022 by a 103-year-old in Sweden.
But Hoffner didn’t care much for the record or the focus on her age, calling it “ridiculous.”
“What has age got to do with what you’re doing?” Hoffner told the Sun-Times a day after the jump. “I’m 104-years-old, so what?”
Hoffner told reporters she might ask a 109-year-old who lives in her building to join her on her next jump, though she was not sure she’d go again.
“You cannot say Dorothy didn’t live life to the fullest!” her team said.
Dorothy Hoffner, 104, falling through the air with tandem jumper Derek Baxter as she becomes the oldest person in the world to skydive Oct. 1.
Daniel Wilsey via AP
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.