Breast cancer skydive a tribute to brave Jane

After almost three decades together, Mr Thorpe’s partner Jane Loring lost her battle with breast cancer in February.

On October 27, he will join friends, family and others affected by breast cancer in a tandem 12,000-feet skydive over Perth city and touching down in Langley Park for the inaugural Jump for Jane.

Mr Thorpe said his wife would have been incredibly proud to see her name front and centre at the charity event.

‘She was a great supporter of causes and loved helping people, so she would be pretty chuffed about this whole thing,’ the Subiaco resident said.

‘She was very spirited and determined in her own way.

‘One thing she got into was running ” she wasn’t a natural, but stuck at it through sheer willpower. She started off jogging for five minutes and ended up regularly running from Subiaco to City Beach to meet a friend for coffee.’

As a psychologist and director on the Breast Cancer Care WA board, Ms Loring took on many roles in her life, but few delighted her more than being a grandmother.

‘When her son Cerin and daughter-in-law Kelly got married, she demanded a little girl because she already had two grandsons,’ he said.

‘Kelly was pregnant, and at first they weren’t going to find out the gender.

‘But doctors told us Jane didn’t have long, so they had a scan and were able to tell Jane it was a girl just before she died. When she was born a few months later, they named her Lily-Jane.’

Despite a passion for scuba diving, sailing and many adventurous sports, Mr Thorpe said skydiving had not been on his wishlist until very recently.

‘Jane was a great fan of champagne, so we will make sure there is plenty of bubbly after we land to settle the adrenaline,’ he said.

‘Next year, we will definitely have another event, but maybe something a little bit closer to the ground.’