ORANGE TOWNSHIP — The Hoversten family tied the Guinness World Record for most generations of one family to skydive simultaneously on Sunday at the Ashland County Airport.
The record was set in 2021 by four generations in the McNabb family in Tennessee. But the Hoverstens did not initially plan to tie any world record. They just planned to join patriarch Bill Hoversten on his quest to skydive on his 90th birthday.
Bill Hoversten decided he wanted to skydive on his 90th birthday a few years ago after reading former President George H. W. Bush did it on his 90th birthday.
“If he can do it, I can do it,” Hoversten said. And if his dad could do it, eldest son William Hoversten decided he could do it with him.
As a retired commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Bill Hoversten said he had experienced jumping into a plane for soldier extractions, but he had never jumped out of one. He spent 10 years serving in the U.S. Army and 25 years in the U.S. Naval Reserve as an engineer.
Hoversten lives in an independent living facility in Hudson, Ohio. But he decided to come to the Ashland County Airport for the big jump because AerOhio Skydiving looked like a good fit for he and his family.
Over the past year, the family started discussing who else would join Bill Hoversten for his 90th birthday. And along the way, Michelle, Bill’s daughter-in-law, discovered the Guinness World Record.
His grandson, Shaun was reluctant at first, but was eventually convinced to join his father and grandfather, who he and most of the family refers to as “Poppy.”
“It’s something anyone can do recreationally, if they have enough nerve to do it,” Bill Hoversten said.
Bill’s great grandson, Nathan, was on board immediately, completing the direct descendent line.
But it did not stop there, Bill Hoversten’s youngest son, Chris. decided to join, flying from El Dorado Hills, Calif. His two sons, C.J. and Joel, flew in from Washington and Colorado to join the fun.
Bill Hoversten’s granddaughter, Caitlin, also drove from California, marking the eighth and final Hoversten to join the jump.
C.J. Hoversten, 31, said he has not been back in Ohio since he was in third grade. He and his brother will both fly out Sunday evening.
“It was 100% worth it; I would jump any day of the week, especially for a family event with these guys,” C.J. Hoversten said.
Linda Garfield, who works at AerOhio Skydiving, said many families come to jump together. And about three months ago, AerOhio saw its oldest skydiver Steve Jeziorski: a 100-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Valley City.
Family members joked Bill Hoversten would have to return on his 101st birthday to beat the record.
After the jump, the family planned to head to downtown Ashland for a lunch together before the family parted ways.