StoryPoint Medina resident checks off another item on his bucket list: Zip-lining!

As a former physical therapist and amateur ballroom dancer, Chester Cypher always has been active. But the StoryPoint Senior Living resident recently took his love for adventure to a whole new level, daring to tackle a nearby zip line course, in an effort to cross off another activity on his bucket list. 

“When he told us he wanted to go zip-lining, we knew we just really needed to make it happen,” said Sydney Stites, life enrichment director at StoryPoint Medina in Medina, OH, where Cypher is a resident. The trip was part of the community’s “Dream Big” initiative, she added. “As a company and as a community, we are always trying to give our residents something to look forward to, which in turn requires them to dream big!”

Cypher with his daughter Liz Hoover, who came up from Columbus for the day to join him on the zipline course

At 90 years old, Cypher is the oldest person to ever navigate the zip line course at Go Ape Adventure Park in Strongsville, OH. Cypher spent about an hour tackling the tree-lined obstacle course before reaching what he said he was most looking forward to: the 200-foot-long zip line. 

“Sliding down that last line — that was the most fun,” Cypher told McKnight’s Senior Living. “It felt like I was flying.” 

StoryPoint even shared Cypher’s adventure on TikTok as a way to encourage other residents, and older adults everywhere, to never let their age define them. 

After watching Cypher pursue his dream and make zip-lining happen, Stites said many other residents have approached her with adventure requests, including parasailing and skydiving. As for Cypher, he said his advice for living a long and happy life is to stay active, drink less alcohol, never smoke and to go zip-lining.

Click here to see the In Focus archive and read how to submit your photos for consideration.