‘Don’t wait!’ Thumb-area 88-year-old takes the leap

RAY, Mich. — At 88 years young, Linda Rowe isn’t slowing down. She’s still saying yes to adventure — even when the invitation comes as an April Fool’s joke.

Rowe, a retired community college teacher and longtime adventurer, recently checked skydiving off her bucket list after an unexpected challenge at Stonegate Village Assisted Living turned into a dream come true.

The idea of skydiving was originally presented to Stonegate residents as an April Fool’s joke. While others quickly said no, Rowe simply said yes.

Once she accepted the challenge, her name was submitted to Stonegate’s “Make Dreams Happen” initiative, a program designed to help residents achieve meaningful dreams and experiences.

What started as a joke became very real.

Stonegate partnered with Midwest Free Fall in Ray to make Rowe’s skydiving adventure possible. On Sept. 10, a bus filled with Stonegate residents and staff traveled to the drop zone to cheer her on as she prepared to take the leap.

For Rowe, however, skydiving was hardly her first adventure.

Her life has been filled with experiences that would make impressive entries on anyone’s bucket list. She has taken a solo whitewater rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, participated in the Rose Bowl Parade and gone horseback riding through the Superstition Mountains.

Even her move to Michigan came about through an adventure.

Originally from Ohio, Rowe first came to Michigan on vacation. What began as a visit eventually led her to purchase a home with two friends. She later built a home of her own just around the corner from the house she had purchased with her friends.

For Rowe, adventure has never been about waiting for the right time.

She says she feels lucky to be able to continue doing the things she loves, and after taking a literal leap from an airplane at 88, she has some advice for others.

“Don’t wait! Do what you want to do and do it now!”

At an age when many people might be content to settle into a quieter routine, Rowe is still looking toward the next adventure — proving that sometimes the best thing you can do when someone asks, even as a joke, is say yes.

— Read more at tribunerecorderleader.com.