FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Most people have a long bucket list of things they want to do before they can’t. One of those bucket list items is skydiving. That’s the last item on one local man’s bucket list, 83-year-old George “Gene” Haines will be skydiving out of a plane on Thursday.

Gene is a resident of Cedarhurst of Fort Wayne, and the opportunity to skydive came about when Cedarhurst asked residents to write down any wishes they had and put them in a fishbowl.

A few weeks later, Gene’s wish was then drawn from the fishbowl. Gene had to go through a process for this bucket list wish to happen. He was interviewed by organizers from ‘A Wish of a Lifetime’ then after that, Gene had to go before a council to see if he would be accepted in ‘A Wish of a Lifetime.’

“I just want to do something that I would never have the opportunity to do before,” Haines said. “Just something new in my life.”

“I feel that I am a strong believer in the Lord, so I am ready to try out what he has created from a height that I have never tried out before,” Haines explained.

Gene’s grandson is a Green Beret and was flown into Fort Wayne Tuesday for this special dive. Gene will be skydiving Thursday with Skydive Indianapolis.