Rochester’s Igor Vovkovinskiy, country’s tallest man, passes away

(ABC 6 News) – Igor Vovkovinskiy, the U.S.’s tallest man, who came to Rochester and acquired fame through his story has died.

His mother made a post on Facebook stating he died Friday night at a hospital in Rochester from heart disease.

Vovkovinskiy stood at 7 feet, 8 inches tall. He came to Rochester at 7-years-old from Ukraine for treatment of his condition called pituitary gigantism.

At the time, he was already 6 six feet tall. Vovkovinskiy made several appearances in films and shows throughout his life.

His mother posted on Facebook writing in part:

"Igor died on August 20 at 22:17 pm in hospital from heart disease. He and his older brother Oleh were with him until the end. His last dinner was: a piece of Kyiv cake and Fanta. A few hours before his death, he was accompanied by Oleh’s wife Alla and children. Igor was glad to see them, and although it was difficult for him to speak, he tried to joke about his nephew Andriy, whether he had learned the Ukrainian language in a month in Ukraine."