When Stonegate Village’s enrichment director, Amanda Childers, made an April Fool’s Day joke to a group of residents, little did she know that it would come true for one of them.
Amanda had tried to fool the women by telling them that an airplane would be landing in front of the community to take them for a parachute jump.
But Linda Rowe, 88, was all in, and she wasn’t disappointed! Amanda made it happen five months later.
Through Dream Big, Stonegate Village partnered with Midwest Freefall Sport Parachute Club, and Linda made the 14,000-foot jump on September 10 while securely strapped to skydiving instructor Paul Helser. Eight additional Stonegate Village residents and some of Linda’s other friends watched the event in person.
Linda says being above the clouds was a beautiful sight and that skydiving was amazing, albeit rather nerve-racking.“It felt more like flying than dropping, almost like sliding through the air,” she said.
This is just one of many adventures Linda, a former physical education and recreation teacher at South Redford High School, has experienced. Attending three Summer Olympics games, whitewater rafting through the Grand Canyon, horseback riding in the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, and participating in archaeological digs top the list of some of the others. But she’s not stopping, not yet. More adventures are to come, and she’s likely to take them if they come her way.
Next up? A hot air balloon ride!
Adventure Awaits at StoryPoint Group Communities
Linda isn’t the only resident who is living her best life and accomplishing her dreams at a StoryPoint Group community. Recognized as a top senior living provider time and time again, StoryPoint Group has provided 20,000 seniors with vibrant, compassionate active adult living, independent living, assisted living, and memory care over the past 40 years. Thousands of residents built friendships, explored new hobbies, participated in social events, and accomplished lifelong goals, just like Linda. If you would like to see what that looks like in person, schedule a tour of Stonegate Village or a StoryPoint Group senior living community near you. To talk with a member of our team, call Stonegate Village at (810) 255-2875 or StoryPoint Group at (844) 275-9990.
