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Age of
Adventure
Al Blaschke
celebrates his
100th birthday
with a flying leap
By Ginger Przybys
It’sa bird. It’s a plane. No! It’s
Sun City Texas’ very own Al
Blaschke, a resident who decided to do
something extraordinary: this daring,
in-love-with-life man jumped out of a
perfectly good airplane in celebration of
his 100th birthday.
On January 4, 2017, Al strapped himself
to skydiving instructor Aaron Burrell of
Skydive Temple in Salado, Texas and
marked another item off his bucket list
when he stepped out of their sing-engine
airplane as they soared 10,000 feet above
the Earth. He was accompanied by his
good friend Betty Schleder, who jumped
at the chance to skydive with Al. Ever
the gentleman, Al politely allowed Betty
to jump first.
That day, the weather at 10,000 feet was a take vitamin C daily.
brisk and blustery 26 degrees, but on the
ground below the hangar was overflowing
with the warmth of love from more than
75 neighbors, family members and friends,
some of whom had traveled from as far
away as Wisconsin, Illinois and Oregon,
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Instructor Aaron Burrell of Skydive Temple double checks Al’s gear as news-
cameras look on.
all to support and witness this fearless
centurion experience life on his terms.
Reporters and camera personnel
from local NBC and Fox news outlets
surrounded Al and Betty as they donned
their lime-green jump suits. This was big
news – Al had tied the record for a 100
year-old in the United States to tandem
skydive and was the only 100 year-old
Texan to have done so. A reporter asked
if he was nervous, but Al smiled, shook
his head and said, “Not at all. I’m really
looking forward to this new experience.”
Who is this extraordinary man and
what is his secret to make it to 100? He
attributes his long life to his parents’ good high school to help his family financially
genes, with all six of Al’s siblings living
well into their late-80s and mid-90s, and
to his late wife Eleanor, who insisted they
drink at least eight glasses of water and
When you first meet Al, you know
there is something special about him.
He is extremely humble and attributes
everything that has come his way as a
gift from God. He said he thanks the
PHOTOS BY DAVE BLASCHKE
Lord every night for all his blessings
and marvels at his uncanny luck.
He is not quick to share his personal
accomplishments, but will gleefully talk
about others.
Thanks to his loving family, close friends
and things Al was willing to share, tidbits
of gathered information begin to weave
together a rich tapestry of Al’s amazing
life and his philosophy on living life to
the fullest.
Al was born on a 120 acre farm in
Janesville, Wisconsin in 1917. When he
was seven his family moved to Northern
Milwaukee. He peddled papers while in
– a job he continued after graduating
in 1934. When he wasn’t working, Al
attended vocational school early in the
morning to learn machine work, and
technical school late in the evening for
college credits in engineering. He studied
for a year and a half, after which he began
an apprenticeship with a large excavating
company in Milwaukee where he worked
for three years.
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