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Oldest Person in the World dies

Doctor Q said:
This month Percy and Florence Arrowsmith set the world's record (recognized by Guinness) for the longest marriage when they celebrated their 80th anniversary on June 1st.

Percy died a few days ago at age 105. Florence is "only" 100. They also held the record for oldest sum of a husband and wife's age.

Photo from article:

0615obit-marriage.jpg
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Very nice Doctor Q. I liked their answer to the question; how do you think that your marriage lasted so long. "We never went to bed angry, we always made up first." What a wonderful philosophy for all of us to follow.
 
Hendrikje Van Andel of the Netherlands, the world's oldest person (born June 29, 1890), died peacefully in her sleep yesterday at age 115 years and 2 months. She supported her favorite soccer team for 87 years and was a widow since 1959.

She said that she considered the automobile to be the greatest invention in her lifetime. Her advice about living a long time? Eat picked herring, drink orange juice, and (said jokingly) "keep breathing". (I do two out of three - does that count?)

The world's oldest person is now an American, 115-year-old Elizabeth Jones Bolden of Memphis, Tennessee, born August 15, 1890.

Hendrikje Van Andel:
Hendrikje_van_Andel-Schipper_at_113.jpg
 
Doctor Q said:
We were both posting at the same time, wdlove! We both think of this thread when we see these news stories.
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Well I will take is positively. Great minds think alike. Wonder if it has to do with our age?
:D
 
With or without wdlove, it's my duty to keep this thread up to date.

Which means I need to report that Bettie Wilson, the oldest American, has died.
Born of freed slaves, she is the oldest resident of the state of Mississippi ever recorded. Her oldest son, Will Rogers, was said born October 27, 1909 - making him 96 years old himself (the 1930 census lists him as 19 years old, suggesting a birthdate of Oct 1910).
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She died Monday (Feburary 13, 2006) at age 115 years and 153 days.

She had five surviving grandchildren, 46 great grandchildren and 95 great-great grandchildren.
 
Last Sunday I visited my next door neightbor Mr. Crotty. He'll be 101 at the end of the month. He's a very nice guy, and so interesting to talk to. He's lived in town his whole life, and he always tells cool stories about stuff he did when he was a kid. It's cool though, 'cause despite his old age, he's very healthy. He's not dilusional or forgetful at all, and he still knows the names of all the people in the neighborhood. I hope I get old someday:)
 
phreakout13 said:
Last Sunday I visited my next door neightbor Mr. Crotty. He'll be 101 at the end of the month. He's a very nice guy, and so interesting to talk to. He's lived in town his whole life, and he always tells cool stories about stuff he did when he was a kid. It's cool though, 'cause despite his old age, he's very healthy. He's not dilusional or forgetful at all, and he still knows the names of all the people in the neighborhood. I hope I get old someday:)
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That's amazing! What's his secret to living so long?
 
I think he's lived so long because he's avoided stressful situations. Now that I think of it, he's never really had to move, he couldn't have children, he was too young for WWI and too old for WWII... That's gotta be his secret:eek:
 
I don't buy into a lot of these "oldest living person claims". How good were records kept in 19th century Okinawa anyway? If a 15 year old can say he was 12 to play in the little leagues, I am sure Mr. Oldy McOlderson can make himself 116 instead of 113.
 
topgunn said:
I don't buy into a lot of these "oldest living person claims". How good were records kept in 19th century Okinawa anyway? If a 15 year old can say he was 12 to play in the little leagues, I am sure Mr. Oldy McOlderson can make himself 116 instead of 113.
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Yeah - that'd be so uncool of a 113-year old trying to act like he's really old. I suppose if they're going for the record, then it'd be uncool, but i doubt many of these over-110-year-old people are all that sure of when they were born anyway. ;)

phreakout13 said:
...too old for WWII...
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Wow - that really drove home how truly old he is - to have been too old for the second world war and still be around now... that's old.
 
I cannot back this up. But when I did some schooling in Dominica, there was this lady who had lived to over 120?

I was told she was the oldest living person in the world, but was not recognized because the church did not have any birth record for her. I believed she died at 128 years old. Ross was trying to do a study at the time by looking at the retina or something as a determenant of age.

http://www.swagga.com/pampo.htm
 
jsw said:
Wow - that really drove home how truly old he is - to have been too old for the second world war and still be around now... that's old.
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I don't know that he was too old for WWII. If he will be 101 at the end of the month, he was born in 1905. He would have been 13 at the beginning of US involvement in WWI which is, in fact, too young even compared to the 15-17 year olds who lied about their age to fight. So, he would have been 3 months shy of his 37th birthday when Pearl Harbor was attacked. There were many people his age and older that went to fight in the war.
 
I'm surprised Doctor Q hasn't brought this thread back up yet.

María Capovilla of Ecuador, the world's oldest person (born September 14, 1889) passed away yesterday just a few weeks shy of her 117th birthday.

The world's oldest person is now Elizabeth Bolden of Memphis, Tennessee. Elizabeth temporarily held the title from August 30, 2005 until December 9, 2005, when María Capovilla was certified as being 11 months older.
 
It's nice to see that somebody made it to 117 when so many "oldest persons" died at 114 or 115. Over the long term, this number will increase, but from year to year we mostly have statistical ups and downs.
 
At least we know the next "oldest person" to die will be at least 116. Wow. I wonder what I'd do if I made it another 80 years. :eek:

Better start focusing more on that 401(k) plan. :D
 
Lizzie Bolden has passed away at the age of 116 years, 118 days.

While Guinness has not confirmed it yet, the world's oldest person title appears to fall to Emiliano Mercado del Toro of Puerto Rico, who is the second oldest undisputed male on record and will be the first male to hold the title of "world's oldest person" since 1968.

(The "undisputed" label refers to the case of Shigechiyo Izumi, who Guinness recognized as the oldest person until he passed away at the age of 120 in 1986. There is now some doubt about his actual year of birth.)
 
WildCowboy said:
...the first male to hold the title of "world's oldest person" since 1968.
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A win for our side! Go men!

It sounds like Elizabeth Bolden died peacefully. I'm glad for her and her 40 grandchildren, 75 great-grandchildren, 150 great-great-grandchildren, 220 great-great-great grandchildren and 75 great-great-great-great grandchildren! That's more birthdays than even a database could keep track of!

However, I'm surprised she went by "Lizzie" given how close her last name sounded to "Borden". I guess it was her nickname well before Lizzie Borden became infamous.
 
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