Video: Florida Aquarium volunteer celebrates 85th birthday with final dive

Volunteer diver retires on milestone birthday

The Florida Aquarium shared video of Lillian Kenney marking her 85th birthday by taking her 1,980th, and last, dive at the Tampa attraction.

TAMPA, Fla. - A longtime volunteer at The Florida Aquarium has taken nearly 2,000 dives over 30 years, but perhaps none more special than her last one – which is how she chose to celebrate her 85th birthday.

Officials at the Tampa attraction say Lillian Kenney spent her milestone birthday closing out three decades of volunteer work by completing her 1,980th dive at the aquarium.

The backstory:

According to The Florida Aquarium, Kenney began volunteering in 1995, the same year it opened.

Since then, Kenney has spent more than 7,200 hours as a volunteer, working to make sure habitats and waterways remain clean and guiding visitors on the Wild Dolphin Cruise and Wetlands of Florida trail.

Pictured: Lillian Kenney. Courtesy: The Florida Aquarium.

What they're saying:

"It's been part of such a big part of my life for so many years. It's one of the things that I put first on my calendar," Kenney said. "There's such a friendly atmosphere at the Aquarium. The people are great. Everybody helps everybody else. I’ll miss the animals. I've enjoyed every minute of it."

What's next:

Although Kenney isn't diving anymore, The Florida Aquarium says she plans to continue volunteering and taking part in community cleanups.