The world's oldest woman has passed away on Tuesday at the age of 116. The AP reported that Besse Cooper died in her home in Monroe, Georgia, close to Atlanta.
Her son Sidney Cooper said to the AP that his mother had been sick with a stomach virus but felt better on Monday. "On Tuesday he said she had her hair set and watched a Christmas video, but later had trouble breathing. She was put on oxygen in her room and died there about 2 p.m.," Cooper noted to the AP.
He added, "With her hair fixed it looked like she was ready to go."
ABC News reports that when Cooper was interviewed by Guinness World Records when she turned 116 she said about her long life, ""I mind my own business and I don't eat junk food."
Now the known title of the world's oldest person goes to 115-year-old Dina Manfredini who lives in Johnston, Iowa.
Cooper was declared the world's oldest person in January 2011 but then had to give up her title when it was found out that Maria Gomez Valentim of Brazil was 48 days older. She got her title reclaimed a month later when Valentim passed away.
Cooper was born in 1896 in Tennessee and moved to Georgia during World War 1. She married her husband Luther in 1924 and they had four children together. According to Guinness, "She had 12 grandchildren and more than a dozen great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren."
"It's a sad day for me," said Robert Young, Guinness senior consultant for gerontology to the AP. He spoke about meeting her when she was 111 to the AP. "At that age she was doing really well, she was able to read books," he said.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
