SNOHOMISH — Upon retirement, most people take up a hobby. For many, it’s golfing, gardening, baking or knitting.
Kim Knor prefers jumping out of airplanes.
“This is the perfect retirement sport,” she said after her latest free fall Wednesday onto Snohomish’s Harvey Field.
This is the 85-year-old daredevil’s most recent stop in her quest for her gold wings, an honor given to skydivers who complete 1,000 jumps.
“I’m trying to figure out a way to hook on a cloud for a little bit,” Knor said.
Kim Knor wears her Skydiving Hall of Fame jump shirt and holds onto her goggles as she gears up before her skydive on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Most people would be nervous boarding the plane, but Knor was all smiles. She’s no amateur. In fact, she’s a skydiving Hall of Famer.
The Michigan native made her first jump in 1959 at the age of 19, before selling her car and contact lens company and leaving home to skydive across Europe. Only three years later, she won gold at the World Parachuting Championships as a member of the first U.S. Women’s Parachute Team.
After Knor’s husband was wounded in a skydiving accident, both decided to hang up their parachutes to raise their kids.
Kim Knor laughs as she waits to gear up for her 730th skydive at Skydive Snohomish on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
“This was going to be our life, and it changed rapidly,” Knor said.
Now, after a 37-year hiatus, she is back. She sold her house, bought an RV and has been traveling the country to visit the best skydiving haunts she can find.
She’s visited all 50 states and 32 countries. Before her hiatus, she’d completed 545 jumps. Since making her return, she’s completed 186 more.
Coming in for a landing, hair sticking straight up and smile stretching from ear to ear, her energy was contagious.
“It gives me so much joy,” Knor said. “It’s just freedom. You can’t possibly feel that freedom with anything else.”
She wears a gold skydiver pendant around her neck, a testament to her passion for the sport and the camaraderie she feels with the community.
Kim Knor holds up a hold skydiver necklace charm that she wears on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
“Skydivers have the same DNA,” Knor said. “Skydivers come from all different countries, all different backgrounds. You just accept each other the way you are and go up and enjoy jumps together.”
Knor’s friend, Sarah Dimmock, doesn’t think she’ll be slowing down anytime soon.
“She is so filled with life,” Dimmock said. “I think she’ll sleep when she’s dead.”
Kim Knor and Kelly Craig free fall during Knor’s skydive on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Courtesy of Skydive Snohomish)
Elaine Harvey shares the sentiment.
“It’s inspiring to see people at the age of 85 know that the sky is not the limit,” said Harvey, one of the owners of Skydive Snohomish. “We can still dream, we can still have goals, we can still push ourselves in a variety of areas out of our comfort zones and achieve new experiences.”
Connor Zamora: 425-339-3037; connor.zamora@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @cgzamora02.
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