Gawler Care and Share’s Joy Connors (left) with friend – and world record-holder – Irene O’Shea, at the April 14 catch-up of the Gawler Care and Share Group. PHOTO: Supplied
THE regular attendees of Gawler Care and Share recently had a surprise visit from a world record-holder.
Great-grandmother Irene O’Shea, 104, holds the world record for the oldest female tandem parachute jump, a feat she made in Langhorne Creek when she was 102.
The skydive was Irene’s third and was made with a 24-year-old paramedic, with the pair falling at a speed of about 220km/h before the parachute was deployed.
Gawler Care & Share Group Inc leisure and lifestyle assistant Jane Bagshaw said Irene was a former volunteer, and enjoyed dropping by for a visit earlier this month.
“When she made the jump, I actually showed it at Care and Share on the big screen, because I knew a lot of people knew her,” she said.
The group’s April 14 meeting also featured a live performance of children from Alana’s Dance Studio.
Gawler Care and Share is a social support program for people aged 65-plus living in the Gawler, Barossa and Light areas.
Get-togethers are held every Tuesday at the Gawler Elderly Centre. Activities include chairbased exercises, craft, games, raffles, computer/mobile phone and laptop support, music, singalong, trading table, outings, and live entertainment.
A nominal day fee covers activities, morning tea and lunch.
Transport can be arranged for a small fee.
