104-Year-Old Record-Breaking Skydiver From Illinois Dies

CHICAGO — Dorothy Hoffner, the 104-year-old Chicago woman who established a new Guinness World Record for the oldest person ever to skydive, never figured one of her final acts on earth was a big deal and never wanted to be in the spotlight.

But after she died on Sunday, she is being remembered for her adventurous spirit and so much more.

Hoffner died Sunday night in her sleep at Brookdale Lake View Senior Living Facility, according to a family spokesperson. Her death comes just more than a week after Hoffner completed a tandem jump at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa.

With the jump, Hoffner entered the Guinness Book of World Records after breaking the record previously set in May 2022 by 103-year-old Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson from Sweden.

“We’re honored that skydiving was perhaps a final thrill and thankful to have been a part of her exciting, well-lived life,” the family said in a statement issued on Tuesday morning.

Despite the attention that came from her record-breaking jump, Joseph Conant, an adoptive grandson who met Dorothy in 2018, told Patch on Tuesday that the centenarian never wanted the attention that came from the feat.

"She was adamant that it not be made a big deal," Conant said in a telephone interview, adding that Hoffner joked that he would "get a black eye out of" turning the jump into a spectacle.

He added: "She didn't understand what all the attention was about. To her, it was just about her wanting to go skydiving. She wasn't trying to break a world record. So in her mind, it wasn't news. But she loved after minute of — not the attention — but she loved every minute of making new friends and meeting new people."

After completing the jump earlier this month, Hoffner said that she had already set her sights on another adventure. She told reporters that she had never been in a hot air balloon and hoped to achieve that as well.

Conant said that he was first approached by Hoffner when she was 100 and expressed interest in skydiving, he was worried. But after that jump went well, he said he had no concerns over her jumping after turning 104.

"If she can handle it at 100, she can handle it now," Conant told Patch. "She doesn't seem to have aged at all."

Her jump was chronicled by media outlets, including The New York Times, and footage released by Skydive Chicago showed her approaching the plane with the assistance of a walker before pushing it aside and boarding the aircraft. Once airborne, she was strapped to an instructor and made her way to the front of the plane, where she leaped into the air.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Skydive Chicago and the U.S. Parachute Association said:

"We are deeply saddened by Dorothy’s passing and feel honored to have been a part of making her world-record skydive a reality. Skydiving is an activity that many of us safely tuck away in our bucket lists. But Dorothy reminds us that it’s never too late to take the thrill of a lifetime.
We are forever grateful that skydiving was a part of her exciting, well-lived life. Her legacy is even more remarkable because of the attention the world gave to her inspiring story."

After the jump, she told The Times that she was surprised people were making such a big deal of her jump.

"They just care about my age,” she told the newspaper. Everyone seemed so impressed, she added, when really all she did was attach herself to an expert and let him do all the work.

Conant said as far as Hoffner was concerned, she was "just going skydiving." Conant said that is still waiting for Guinness to certify the record, a lengthy process that required 12 weeks advance notice that a record would be attempted to be broken. But when only six weeks advance notice was given, it delayed the process of the record being made official.

Regardless of her level of effort, Hoffner seemed impressed with the views she took in during her approach back down to earth.

It was wonderful up there,” Hoffner told reporters after landing and being asked about the experience. “The whole thing was delightful, wonderful, couldn’t have been better.”

Conant, who works as a nurse and met Dorothy while working as a caregiver to another nursing home resident, said he was shocked by Hoffner's passing after speaking to her on Sunday. She said that she had planned to meet with a reporter from Germany who flew to the United States to interview her about her record-breaking jump.

"Ever since I had met Dorothy, she had never aged," Conant told Patch on Tuesday. "She remained as strong, as interesting, as alert and as inspiring as always."

He added: "I'm surprised by her passing, but at the same time, what a great last chapter."

Conant said that in her passing, Hoffner would want her legacy to be very simple.

"Do whatever you want to do, just keep going and be kind to people," Conant said. "That's what I will remember most about Dorothy."