Celebrating 92 at 120 (mph)

Lois Turner fulfilled her lifelong dream of parachuting from an airplane with the help of Adam Marsh of Skydive San Marcos.

“I’m not nervous, I’m excited,” Turner said, holding out her hands before the jump to show they were not shaking. Minutes later, Turner put on a lime-green jump suit and took out her hearing aids. After a 15-minute ascent to 11,000 feet, the active senior, attached to Skydive San Marcos instructor Adam Marsh, plummeted toward the Texas Hill Country at 120 mph on a clear morning in early July.

“The pressure was heavy,” Turner said, “but after the chute opened, you just seemed to float like a bird.”

Turner and Marsh landed smoothly, with Marsh’s legs absorbing the impact. With wind-slicked hair, Turner greeted her eight elated family members. They kissed, hugged and took pictures. “You go, girl,” a passing young woman said to Turner.

Turner had an opportunity to jump from an airplane at age 24 when she worked at an Army Air Corps base in Florida. She missed her chance because a co-worker did not arrive in time to take over her shift.
 
This is not Turner’s first attempt at thrill-seeking. Last year, Turner rode a gyroscope. The experience was so thrilling that she told her family she wanted to fulfill her 67-year-long skydiving dream. Don Gish, the husband of Turner’s niece, organized the jump for Turner’s 92nd birthday, which was two days after the jump on July 10.

“We were just thrilled that she had a good time,” Gish said.

After the jump, Turner said she had a sense of completion.

“I’m glad I finally went,” Turner said. “It’s a big load off my chest. I’d like to do it again when I’m 110!”

Trinity Place Apartments is a HUD community and an affiliated program of Austin-based Lutheran Social Services of the South. The senior community offers convenient housing in a caring community for the elderly and handicapped.

Contact:
Sherry Houston, Manager
Kym Brown, Assistant Manager
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