Octogenarian Skydiving Legends

By Connor Forbes

At an age you’d expect them to be playing bunko at the retirement home, these trailblazing skydiving pioneers are jumping from a DC-9 jetliner. 

Octogenarian Skydiving Legends. Nancy Gruttman-Tyler (79) and Raffi Tokhalyan
Photo by Kristian Caulder

On Saturday, October 26, Nancy Gruttman-Tyler (79), Donna Wardean Dann (82), and Kim Emmons Knor (85) did just that from Skydive Perris’ unique jet.

Kim Emmons Knor in 1962
Photo by Joe Gonzales

The 3 are no stranger to jumping out of airplanes, all with first jumps dating back to the 1960’s.

Knor won a gold medal at the Skydiving World Championships in 1962 and is on a mission to hit 1000 jumps before hanging up the parachute. Saturday’s jump was her 752nd.

The team gathers after their jump out of the jet! From left to right: Raffi Tokhalyan (Nancy Gruttman-Tyler’s Tandem Instructor), Diane Conatser (Founder of Skydive Perris and owner of the DC-9 jet), Scott Smith (Kim Emmons Knor’s TI), Nancy Gruttman-Tyler, Kim Emmons Knor, Jay Stokes (Guinness World Record holder of the most skydiving jumps in 24 hours… 640!), Donna Wardean Dann, Melanie Conatser (co-owner of Skydive Perris) and Lee Kibang (Donna Wardean Dann’s TI)
The team gathers after their jump out of the jet! From left to right: Raffi Tokhalyan (Nancy Gruttman-Tyler’s Tandem Instructor), Diane Conatser (Founder of Skydive Perris and owner of the DC-9 jet), Scott Smith (Kim Emmons Knor’s TI), Nancy Gruttman-Tyler, Kim Emmons Knor, Jay Stokes (Guinness World Record holder of the most skydiving jumps in 24 hours… 640!), Donna Wardean Dann, Melanie Conatser (co-owner of Skydive Perris) and Lee Kibang (Donna Wardean Dann’s TI). Photo by Craig O’Brien

Setting a world record in 1967, Dann was a key developer of formation skydiving. 

Tyler, the first woman elected to the U.S. Parachute board, is a 31 year Army veteran and also an innovator in skydiving formations.

“Watching Kim, Donna, and Nancy jump from the jet was a powerful reminder of the spirit and resilience that defines our community,” said Melanie Conatser, co-owner of Skydive Perris. “These women have shown us that you don’t stop living boldly just because of a number on a calendar.”

Kim Emmons Knor, a World Champion Skydiver in 1962, made her 752nd jump last Saturday in Perris, at the still ripe age of 85.
Kim Emmons Knor, a World Champion Skydiver in 1962, made her 752nd jump last Saturday in Perris, at the still ripe age of 85. Photo by Craig O’Brien

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