Massachusetts: The most memorable day of Lori Craig’s life after her wedding and giving birth was to watch her 87-year-old mother jump from an airplane 13,000 feet above the ground this Sunday.
Craig said she was waiting anxiously on the ground, craning her neck toward the sky, as her mother, Janis Lefebre, took the daring plunge.
“She has nerves of steel,” said Craig, admitting she would never skydive herself. “It was a proud moment. It was a proud moment for us as her children. She is just a powerhouse.”
Lefebre made the leap with an instructor from Jumptown, a skydiving company based in Orange, Massachusetts.
The adventure, a gift from her family, was the last item on Lefebre’s “bucket list,” Craig said, which included just two other checklist items: going ice skating at Rockefeller Centre, in New York City, and visiting Disney World a few years ago.
“She had mentioned (that she had wanted to go skydiving) to us in passing,” said Craig.
When Lefebre turned 87 in January, the family planned to fulfil her wish, but waited for the weather to be friendly before surprising her with the task.
As Lefebre took the leap from the sky, 20 family members had gathered at the hangar below, cheering her on.
The entire experience was captured on video by employees from Jumptown. Throughout the video, Lefebre seems calm and excited.
Craig said her mother isn’t your average 87-year-old.
“She is very healthy, and very fit, so it was something we knew she could handle,” Craig said. “She can hold a plank longer than most of her children.”
She added saying her is a very lively person, ‘she’s out, living her life.
“She doesn’t sit around,” she said, laughing. “She is a very busy woman.”
