Great-Grandmother Is Flying High at 85

Ten years ago, Brent Clingman took his grandmother for a ride in an off-track race car through the desert on her birthday. He promised her that, if she lived to be 85, he would take her on a helicopter ride. She turned 85 Thursday and collected.

“For her 75th birthday, I got a male stripper for her and took her for a ride in the desert in a race car,” he said. “She was a little scared at first, but then she told me to go faster. So, I drove about 90 to 95 through the sand and dirt.”

Nina Z. Hoke remembers the ride, but she remembers the stripper even better.

“He was great,” she said. “He was more embarrassed than I was. He was a cute boy.”

To lure his grandmother to Corporate Helicopters of San Diego, based at Jimsair Aviation Services on Pacific Highway, Clingman told her he was taking her to an outdoor restaurant for dinner. However, when they arrived at the airfield, Hoke still did not think anything was unusual.

“I thought my daughter and her husband were flying in from Wyoming, because her husband owns a private plane,” she said. “I didn’t know I would be going up.”

But, after pilot Roland Rozzelle strapped the San Diego grandmother into the five-seat New Bell Jetranger, Clingman reminded her of the 10-year-old promise.

Hoke was joined on the 20-minute flight by Clingman, his 6-year-old daughter, Chrissy, and a reporter. The aircraft flew 600 feet over La Jolla, including Mt. Soledad, and circled back over the city and Coronado.

“We’re lower than the palm trees,” Hoke said as the helicopter roared past La Jolla Cove at 90 m.p.h.

As the pilot headed to the final site of the sky tour toward the Coronado Bridge, Hoke warned him to be cautious.

“If we’re going to go over the bridge, then do it quick,” she said.

When the flight was over, she hugged and kissed her grandson and told him that it was “very good.”

Clingman also planned a surprise birthday party for her Thursday night at the Mandarin Dynasty on University Avenue. About 40 friends, some of whom she had not seen in years, were expected to attend.

The 35-year-old free-lance photographer described his grandmother as a hard worker. He said she picks up his two daughters from school in her 12-year-old car at least three times a week and takes them where they want to go. She occasionally baby-sits for the girls, the second one being 7 years old.

She also volunteers at two organizations in Balboa Park, the Old Globe Theatre and the Hall of Champions, a sports museum.

“She outruns all of us,” said Pat Hawkins, administrative assistant at the museum. “She’s a ball of fire, she whizzes in, does her thing and whizzes out.”

For three days each week, Hoke takes care of her 79-year-old bed-ridden sister, who also lives in San Diego. And, today, Hoke will attend the Padres game. She has season tickets for Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

For 30 years, the great-grandmother of four worked as an escrow officer and is a former president of the American Women’s Assn. She was born in Brownsville, Tex., but has lived in San Diego almost 73 years.

“She’s a nut and a crackup,” Clingman said. “By the time most people turn 85, they’re ready to give up the ghost, fold up their chairs and do nothing. But, my grandmother goes out to dinner and asks for a scotch on the rocks, has a good time and enjoys it.”