 On July 5, 1990 (age 91), in Albert Lea, Minnesota, Smitty made his 221st and final jump, another tandem jump, declaring he'd better quit while "still in one piece".Smitty was a "cult figure" in skydiving circles, a celebrity at gatherings of parachutists, particularly the U.S. National Parachuting Championships, where the "outgoing and gregarious" Smitty often served as "unofficial greeter.