80-Year-Old Jeweler Plans Birthday Skydive



On Oct. 6, Stan Minkinow, owner of Alexander’s Jewelry in Huntsville, Ala., will jump out of a plane to celebrate his 80th birthday.

Minkinow will close his jewelry store for the day to take the daring plunge from a plane for the second time. Ten years ago he also went skydiving for his 70th birthday. “My last jump, I did without everyone knowing about it,” Minkinow says. “I do it because it’s available. I figure, why not jump?”

As a former pilot in the Army, Minkinow is no stranger to high altitudes. “I spent 27 years in the service, with eight years in the special forces,” Minkinow says. “I made military jumps and always wanted to make high-altitude jumps.”

In 1982, four years after he retired from the service, he opened Alexander’s Jewelry, named after his father.

When asked about the adrenaline rush of skydiving, Minkinow says, “It’s exciting and different, but not scary. It’s probably safer than going up and down Madison Avenue.”

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