To celebrate his 90th birthday, skydiver makes 9 jumps in 4 hours


Pat Moorehead decided to dive right into his 90s.
On Nov. 20, Moorehead celebrated his 90th birthday at Skydive Perris in Perris, California. From 8 a.m. to noon, he completed nine jumps, one for each decade of his life. Other skydivers joined in the fun, jumping in 90-shaped formations, as hundreds of Moorehead's relatives and friends watched from the ground.
A Navy and Air Force veteran and retired fire battalion chief, Moorehead got the skydiving bug in 1969, and since then, has made nearly 6,700 jumps. He's appeared in television commercials and movies, founded the Skydivers Over Sixty Society (SOS), and even met his wife of 37 years on a skydiving plane. "You might say we fell for each other," he told KTLA.
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Moorehead turned his birthday into a fundraiser for the International Skydiving Museum and Hall of Fame, and was able to donate more than $16,000 to the organization. Moorehead said he's not "trying to set an example for anyone," but if what he's doing "inspires people to realize that aging is a gift that you can make something of, that's great."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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