The woman who was listed as the
world's oldest person died Tuesday in a Georgia nursing home at age 116.
Besse Cooper died peacefully Tuesday afternoon in Monroe, according to her son
Sidney Cooper. Monroe is about 45 miles east of Atlanta.
Cooper said his mother had been ill recently with a stomach virus.
Aging secrets: Ms Cooper, the oldest living woman in the world, died Tuesday at
116. Her secret to living so long? 'I mind my own business, and I don't eat junk
food,' she once said
Passing peacefully: Her son said Ms Cooper died peacefully after having her hair
done and watching a Christmas video
On Tuesday, however, she was feeling better and had her hair done and was
watching a Christmas video when she had trouble breathing.
Ms Cooper was put on oxygen in her room where she died about 2 p.m., Mr Cooper
said.
'With her hair fixed it looked like she was ready to go,' he said.
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dressed up in Besse Cooper was declared the world's oldest person in January
2011. In May 2011, Guinness World Records learned that Maria Gomes Valentin of
Brazil was 48 days older. Valentin died the next month.
'It's a sad day for me,' said Robert Young, Guinness senior consultant for
gerontology. He recalls meeting Cooper when she was 111 and took note of her
mental agility.
'At that age she was doing really well, she was able to read books,' he said.
Princess: Ms Cooper celebrates her 114th birthday with a senior consultant for
Guinness World Records standing near
Kiss farewell: Paul Cooper, Ms Cooper's grandson, gives her a kiss on her
forehead
Last year on Cooper's 115th birthday, she celebrated with friends and relatives,
enjoyed two small slivers of birthday cake and was serenaded by a musician from
Nashville who sang 'Tennessee Waltz.'
Besse Cooper was the first Georgian to hold the world record. She was born in
Tennessee and moved to Georgia during World War I to look for work as a teacher.
According to Guinness only eight people have ever reached 116. She's held the
title of oldest living person since 2011.
Her secret to living so long? The day she turned 116, she told Guinness, 'I mind
my own business,' Cooper said. 'And I don't eat junk food.'
At her birthday, Mr Cooper said, 'the older she has gotten the more wittier she
has gotten.'
Record winner: Jeanne Calment, believed to be the world's oldest person, died in
1997 at the age of 122 in Arles, France
Oldest: The title of world's oldest person now belongs to 115-year-old Dina
Manfredini, of Johnston, Iowa
The title of world's oldest person now belongs to 115-year-old Dina Manfredini,
of Johnston, Iowa, Young said.
The oldest known person of all time was Jeanne Calment, a French woman who lived
to be 122 years old and died in 1997.
Sidney Cooper said his family will likely hold a funeral for his mother later
this week.