Woman, 116, listed as 'world's oldest' dies in Ga.
MONROE, Ga. (AP) — 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, then 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 said.
"With her hair fixed it looked like she was ready to go," he said.
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.
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."
Sidney Cooper said his family will likely hold a funeral for his mother later this week.
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.
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.
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, then 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 said.
"With her hair fixed it looked like she was ready to go," he said.
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.
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."
Sidney Cooper said his family will likely hold a funeral for his mother later this week.
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.
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.
I would have loved to had a real history lesson from this ladies life experiences I bet it was amazing what she saw and lived through. Especially the changes in all types of modernization and technology throughout her life.
I read the story last night and decided to estimate the year Mrs. Cooper was born- 1896. Her life actually spans three centuries (the 19th, 20th and the 21st)!!! I would have to live to be over 140 years old to accomplish that feat.
Why do they keep listing these old people as "World's Oldest"?
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It's like a death sentence! Sheesh!!!  :-P
It's just a good thing Besse stopped doing meth when she did.
 @swimbad She probably would have laughed at that...LOL!
Oh, can you image what she had seen in her 116 years every history events! Rest in peace, Besse.
She has beautiful skin in this photo for being 115. She would have been 21 when WWI ended, 45 when WWII began. Two world wars, prohibition, the great depression, the history she lived through.Â
We often become fixed onto a particular type of music when we're young and it generally stays with us throughout our life. I wonder what type of music she liked.Â
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The clarity of her skin and eyes plus the fullness of her hair she truly had a gift of longevity. RIP
 @Quaoptician ~  I'll bet she was a lovely young woman, too... she has wonderful facial bone structure and beautiful eyes, even at her advanced age...  Oh, and the stories she could have told..! Â
 @margay1 Yes, the stories. I had a Great Aunt who died in the mid 90's at 99 years old. She used to tell us stories about prohibition and speak easys. How she used to dress like a flapper to go dance, sneak in a cocktail and really feel like she was living on the edge. She always said her and the friends she had were the decent girls that went home with whom they arrived with.  When taking her shopping in downtown she would point out the "questionable" establishments and where they once were. Another of her high-points was to talk about a balloon bomb from Japan that dropped [but didn't detonate] near her house during WWII. Oh the memories.
Rest in peace, Besse Cooper... you have certainly earned it... Â :-)
Just imagine what tis woman has seen come and go during her lifetime. That's a great run Besse !