Butler resident skydives at age 90
It's probably best not to dare Tom Della Santa of Butler.
A case of egging each other on led the 90-year-old retired postal employee to a skydiving excursion with his two granddaughters, his daughter and his son-in-law July 9.
“My 90th birthday was Jan. 31, and at that time my wife (Fran) and the kids had thrown a surprise party that was very nice,” Della Santa said.
“My granddaughter, Jenny Chapla in Butler, had a birthday in July,” he said. “And this kind of came about because she had gotten a skydiving session for her birthday.”
Chapla, 44, said, “It was my birthday and we were having a family picnic that Saturday night and I said, 'Grandma, Grandpa, I'm going skydiving tomorrow are you coming too?'”
Chapla, who got the skydiving session as a gift from her husband, Terry, said it didn't take but a moment for her grandparents to say they'd do it.
Della Santa said, “I was not going to be part of it, but I wanted to see who was willing to go.”
She said that after her parents, Margy and George Vorel of Butler, said they were also in for the skydive, it didn't take long for them to guilt Chapla's sister Alyssa Vorel of Butler into the trip, too.
Fran Della Santa had to bow out for a medical condition, but the rest found themselves at Skydive Pennsylvania near the Grove City Outlet Mall the next day.
“I guess it was a challenge,” Tom Della Santa said of his foray into skydiving. “It was something I thought would be exciting. It's not something I set out do seriously, but I'm glad I did.”
Once at the private airfield, the family split up with Della Santa going on a plane with three other tandem divers.
In tandem diving, a novice is attached by harness to a more experienced sky diver who guides the whole jump from plane to landing.
“They claim we jumped at 13,500 feet,” Della Santa said. “I was kneeling near the open door and it was jump or get pushed.”
Describing the free fall part of the jump, Della Santa said, “Temperature-wise it was no different. I could hear a lot of wind.”
“We were dropping through the clouds. For the first 40 to 50 seconds there was no communication through my helmet. It comes back on when you feel the chute open,” he said.
“Euphoric is the only word that comes to mind. There's complete silence. You can see how pretty the ground is, but you can't hear anything,” he said.
Soon enough, he noted the descent was over.
“They tell you to keep your feet and legs extended in front of you. They want your backside to bear the brunt of it,” he said.
Cecil Smith, the owner of Skydive Pennsylvania, said a skydiver of Della Santa's age was unusual but not unprecedented.
“We've had a 94 year old also this year. We do get some,” Smith said.Della Santa's sky dive gave him a chance to one up another daughter.Lisa and Vincent Johns of Pittsburgh had just come back from a five-day whitewater rafting vacation when Della Santa let them know what he had been up to.“They had no idea that I was going to do this. I told them what pikers they were,” he said.Della Santa said maybe he's found an affinity for the air.“In Sedona, Ariz., they had these biplanes with open cockpits. I've always loved them. You can take a plane out for a certain price,” he said.“I piloted a plane for a while. I guess I'm a frustrated pilot, but I'm afraid to get up on a ladder.”While awaiting his next adventure, Della Santa is content to keep singing with the Barbershoppers as he has for the last 63 years.He used to be active in Butler Little Theatre and the Musical Theatre Guild, but he said his memory doesn't allow him to memorize a lot of lines anymore.“If I can find a part that is an old guy with just a few lines, I might do it,” he said.Until then, he said he will keep his feet on the ground, at least for now.Speaking of skydiving, Della Santa said, “I think I would do it again, but only if I reach 95.”
