Jill Kinmont Boothe dies
Boothe (center) in the Eastern Sierra with Olympic athletes, (from left) Nancy Fiddler, Tommy Czeschin, Karen Keehn, Deena Kastor, Robin Morning (Photo by Layton Petersen)
According to the Los Angeles Times, Jill Kinmont Boothe, 75, has died. Boothe, the former ski champion and Olympic hopeful who was left paralyzed after a skiing accident in Utah in 1955 and whose inspirational life story was the subject of two Hollywood films, died Thursday, Feb. 9 in a Carson City hospital, the article stated.
“Ruth Rhines, senior deputy coroner of Carson City, confirmed that Boothe died Thursday at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center. A cause of death has not been reported and Rhines could not confirm reports that Boothe died of complications related to surgery.”
Kinmont Boothe was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Bishop and skied at Mammoth Mountain. She was an alpine ski racer and Olympic hopeful who competed in the 1950s before a near-fatal accident paralyzed her. She became a quadriplegic at the age of 18.
Kinmont Boothe went on to earn her teaching credential from the University of Washington and taught special education at Bishop Union Elementary School.
She was the subject of two movies, “The Other Side of the Mountain” and “The Other Side of the Mountain” Part II. She was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1967. –Additional Sources: Wikipedia.org
Thank you for publishing this story. I’ve admired Mrs Kinmont Boothe since the movie of her story came out. As a disabled child then, her story gave me hope for a rosy future with a man of my own. That still hasn’t happened but now it’s OK. God bless all who she touched in her life.