"The ex-president [Bush] did it, so I figured I could, too," he says. "My birthday was in June, so I scheduled the jump for July 4."

Rechenmacher chose Hollister-based Adventure Center Skydiving, Inc. to facilitate his adventure, which was to be a tandem jump from 15,000 feet. Rechenmacher says a tandem jump is one where the participant is strapped to the front of the instructor. The instructor has control of the parachute, which he deploys after a period of free falling.

Looking back, Rechenmacher was very happy with his choice in companies as well as his instructor Steve Rafferty.

"Steve had done more than 10,000 jumps and was very calm and helpful," Rechenmacher says. "He told me 'You're not going anywhere I am not.' "

Rechenmacher admits with a laugh that he didn't actually jump out of the plane, but was more or less pushed out by Raferty.

"I squatted by the open door of the airplane, crossed my hands over my chest and looked to the side. The next thing I knew I was in the air. I really didn't have a choice about leaving the plane," he says. "It was a little hard to breathe on the free fall but once the chute was deployed it was like sitting in a lawn chair. Everything was absolutely quiet and there was no feeling of falling. I just looked out and enjoyed the panoramic view."

Two of his daughters and one son, along with their families, came to watch. All in all Rechenmacher had 18 people on the ground cheering him on.

Although he had never actually exited an airborne plane before, Rechenmacher is no stranger to flying. Born in Naperville, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, he joined the Navy Air Corps after completing high school.

"When I finished high school I was draft age and because I didn't want to be in the infantry and have to shoot people, I signed up for the Navy Air Corps," he says.

As he was completing his flight training in Pensacola, Fla. the war ended. Rechenmacher was subsequently discharged and given $55 to use for a return trip back home to Naperville, Ill. However, an unexpected series of events landed him in California.

"I hitched a ride to Mobile,[Ala.] and then caught a transport flight to Memphis. From there, I planned to take a flight to Chicago, but learned there wasn't one. There was a plane leaving for San Francisco, so I decided to go," Rechenmacher says. "I am the eighth of 12 kids and at the time three of my brothers were living in California. That decision in Memphis changed my whole life."

On the suggestion of one of his brothers, who was a priest, Rechenmacher enrolled in Santa Clara University and started classes on Jan. 6, 1946.

On March 17, 1946 Rechenmacher met a woman named Esther at a St. Patrick's Day dance. The two hit it off, were married in June 1948 and over time had a total of 10 children.

"I always say we had six girls and four boys and let them add," Esther said.

Rechenmacher graduated with a degree in civil engineering in June 1949 and began working as a civil engineer on various projects around the Santa Clara Valley, including the construction of Eastridge Mall.

The couple settled in Willow Glen and bought their first home in 1950, later moving to Fuchsia Drive where they still live.