Video of Virginia\’s Service 90th Birthday Skydiving Jump

Video of Virginia\’s Service 90th Birthday Skydiving Vacation in Oak Island

By Carrie Frye, OutreachNC

Carolina blue skies, rising winds and warm temperatures wrap together for perfect skydiving weather and the perfect 90th birthday gift for Southern Pines resident Virginia “Ginger” Haller Service. Inspired by the former President George Bush’s skydiving jump for his 80th birthday, Service decided that she too would celebrate her milestone birthday in high style.

However, this skydiving event quickly became a family affair. Two of Service’s five children and three granddaughters all agreed to join her in tandem jumps. Reservations were made, vacations planned and soon a family reunion would take place around the skydiving event.

“I’m going to take the jump of my life today,” declares Service on the morning of Aug. 2 in the skydiving hangar at the Brunswick County Airport in Oak Island, N.C.

Service is just the second oldest jumper to take the leap from 11,000 feet above the North Carolina coastline with Skydive Coastal Carolinas. Owner Brian Strong is in his 31st year of skydiving and happy to assist Service and her family members with the experience.

“I think giving people a thrill for their life is the best for any age, from 18 to 90,” says Strong.

The jump is a buildup of anticipation for all the skydivers. The process begins with watching the square parachutes being packed as they are laid out in the hangar. Jumpers then watch a video and sign a waiver before suiting up for the 25-minute flight, 45 seconds of freefall and five to 10 minute floating descent once the parachute opens.

Service emerged from the dressing room in a light blue jumpsuit with multiple NASA patches on the front waving to her adoring crowd of more than 50 family members.

Skydiving instructors Bob Stephens and Laura Mullen assist their tandem partners with their gear and explain how the harnesses and parachute will work. Both are experienced jumpers with Stephens having over 1,400 jumps and Mullen with over 6,500 under their respective skydiving belts.

“We will leap out of the plane and take you with us,” laughs Mullen as she encourages the jumpers to scream on the way down and demonstrates how jumping from the Cessna 182 will look.

The plane holds five including the pilot Chuck Jacelon, so the jumpers would go in groups of two with their instructors, saving Service as the grand finale for this family birthday celebration.

“I’m very glad to see someone else do it first,” jokes Service. “When they come back down and tell me how wonderful it was, I will regain my adventurous spirit.”

Granddaughters Katie O’Leary from Reston, Va. and Bethany Taylor from Atlanta, Ga. both suited up for their adventure, climb aboard the plane and ascend into the sky and out of view. Several minutes later with the eyes of the spectators all aimed above, the brightly colored square parachutes begin to peek in and out of the clouds gradually becoming larger and more in view. Upon landing in the field just outside the airport hangar, each granddaughter stands amidst smiles and cheers from the crowd.

With a brief turnaround, Service’s son John Taylor who had already made quite a journey from Germany and his daughter Laura Taylor McLeod from Colorado Springs, Colo. put on their gear and load up into the Cessna with its shark paint scheme.

Soon the chutes of color are visible with fingers and eyes pointing to the sky. After landing, the father/daughter jumping duo left the landing field arm in arm with big smiles.

And then it was Service’s turn to gear up and take some final instruction from Mullen. Service and her daughter Carol O’Leary, also visiting from Colorado Springs, would be onboard together. With a final wave to her fans, Service steps up into the plane awaiting takeoff.

In anticipation of her arrival, family members on the ground could not contain their excitement.

“She has a lot of gumption. I don’t think there’s anything she can’t do. She’s always been athletic, and you just can’t stop those Hallers,” laughs Minerva Haller, Service’s sister-in-law from Ocean City, Md. “This is a very close family. I lucked out to marry into it.”

“We had to come down for this celebration,” adds Don Haller, Service’s 83-year old brother from Richmond, Va. “Ginny is terrific, very dependable and very loving.”

With the anticipation building, a group of granddaughters begin to sing their own rendition of “She’ll be coming ‘round the clouds when she comes.” And just like before, the colors of the parachutes appear against the blue sky bouncing in and out of view of the clouds. After Carol’s safe landing, the family members cheer, take photos, wave and point to the sky as the day culminates in Service gliding down to the landing field.

With a bit of a bumpy landing and a little help from her daughter and granddaughter, Service stands tall in the field for a sweet moment before loading into a golf cart for a ride back to the shade of the airport hangar. And just as children would gather to hear a grandparent’s story, the family surrounds the golf cart in the hangar to hear Service’s tale of her jump.

“The experience was tremendous,” Service says. “Looking out over the ocean, seeing the green trees under the canopy of blue, I never appreciated quite so much what a beautiful world we live in. I’ve never experienced anything so wonderful, and I’m so glad my family was there with me.”

Editor’s note: We had the honor of meeting Ginger Service in February when working on a feature recounting stories of the women of World War II in our area. She shared her plan for skydiving in August. At her invitation, OutreachNC was able to be a part of this birthday celebration and witness firsthand what an inspiration Mrs. Service is, not only to us, but of course to her family, most of whom traveled from across the country and beyond to share in this special day on Oak Island. We owe special thanks to Mrs. Service and her family for the experience and their kindness.