Donald M Cripps

Donald Morris Cripps of Pensacola, Florida passed away on August 19th, 2026, at the age of 96. He was born on September 12, 1929, in Townshend, Vermont, where he lived until joining the US Army at the age of 17.

He enlisted in the Army in September of 1946 and completed basic training at Ft. Bragg. When the Korean War started, he was a member of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Pathfinders known as the “Rakkasans” and served in Korea in 1950 and 1951. It was during this time serving as a paratrooper that his love of skydiving began. Returning stateside in 1952 he married his wife of thirty-four years, Irene Annette Cripps in July of that year and was honorably discharged from the Army in November.

In January of 1958 he enlisted in the US Navy. During his time in the Navy, he and his growing family were stationed in many different parts of the United States including NATECTRACEN in Norman, Oklahoma, NATTC in Memphis, Tennessee, NAS in Kingsville, Texas, USNAS and VT-27 in New Iberia, Louisiana, and VF-121, LANTFLT, VT-4, and VT10 at NAS Pensacola. While the family stayed stateside, Donald served as an Aviation Structural mechanic on the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt and the USS Independence. His last station of duty was in Pensacola, Florida where he officially retired from the Navy on August 30th of 1974.

After retiring from the Navy, he attended Pensacola Junior College where he received his associate's degree in marketing and general business administration in 1978.

In 1991 he retired from working as an aircraft mechanic at Whiting Field. Deciding golfing wasn’t exciting enough he turned to a sport that would bring him immense joy during the rest of his life. Having jumped as a paratrooper in Korea he turned to the sport of skydiving and never looked back. With over 4000 jumps in 30 years completed, he has made friends in the skydiving community around the world.

At the age of 84 he became the world's oldest base jumper when he

jumped from the New River Gorge bridge in West Virginia and earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records which remains to this date.

He is preceded in death by his parents Chesley and Minnie Cripps, his brother Oliver Harrick and his wife, Irene Annette Cripps. He is survived by his sister Dorothy Cripps and his two loving daughters Dawn and Kellie Cripps.

The family would like to thank the staff of Arcadia Senior Living and Emerald Coast Hospice for the care and compassion they showed him in his final days.

Visitation will be held at Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home, 1985 West Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, FL 325349377, US, on August 31, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

A Funeral Service will take place at Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home, 1985 West Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, FL 32534, on September 1, 2026, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.

A Committal Service will be held at Barrancas National Cemetery, 1 Cemetery Rd, Pensacola, FL 32508, US, on September 1, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm.