Gertrude Weaver

Gertrude Weaver

Gertrude Weaver at age 113
Born Gertrude Gaines[1]
(1898-07-04)July 4, 1898
Lafayette County, Arkansas, U.S.
Died April 6, 2015(2015-04-06)
(aged 116 years, 276 days)
Camden, Arkansas, U.S.
Cause of death Pneumonia
Known for Oldest living person (March 31, 2015 – April 6, 2015)
Spouse(s) Gennie Weaver (m. 1915; d. 1969)[2] 4 children
Parent(s) Charles and Ophelia Gaines[1][2]

Gertrude Weaver (née Gaines; July 4, 1898 – April 6, 2015) was an American supercentenarian. She was born in Lafayette County, Arkansas, near the border with Texas and Louisiana.[3] She became the oldest living person in the United States upon the death of Dina Manfredini on December 17, 2012. She became the oldest living person in the world on March 31, 2015 (US Central Time) following the death of Misao Okawa in Osaka, Japan early on April 1, 2015 (GMT +9); she remained so until her own death five days later.[4] At the time of her death she was the seventh-oldest person ever verified and the third oldest person ever verified from the United States, after Sarah Knauss and Lucy Hannah.

Biography

Weaver was born in Lafayette County, Arkansas to Charles Gaines (b. May 1861) and Ophelia Jeffreys (b. December 1866),[5] who were African American sharecroppers.[6] She married Gennie Weaver[7] on July 18, 1915 and had four children. She was widowed in 1969. At the time of her 116th birthday one son, Joe,[5] was still alive at age 93 and turned 94 the day after his mother's death.[8]

At 104, she moved to the Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center in Camden, Arkansas after she broke her hip. With rehabilitation, she recovered from the injury and was able to move back to her home with the help of her granddaughter. At 109, she returned to Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation. Her health declined somewhat after her 115th birthday but she still left her room for meals and activities at the nursing home.[9] Weaver did not have any chronic health problems typical of people her age; she slept well and did not drink alcohol or smoke.[10]

Weaver told the Associated Press that there were three factors that have contributed to her longevity: "Trusting in the Lord, hard work and loving everybody."[9][11] Weaver added a fourth factor when she told Time magazine that trying to do your best is another factor adding: "Just do what you can, and if we can't, we can't"[10] or, in other words, "Kindness".[12]

At her 116th birthday celebration, the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) announced that they had verified Weaver's age making her the oldest verified living American and they presented her with a plaque inscribed with her title as oldest American on it.[9][13][14][15] The GRG and Guinness World Records established that Weaver was older than Jeralean Talley, who was previously thought to be the oldest; with Weaver's death, Talley became the oldest verified individual in both the United States and the world. Weaver also received a letter from President Barack Obama, and the Mayor of Camden declared her birthday "Gertrude Day."[15]

On April 6, 2015, Weaver died from pneumonia aged, 116 years, 276 days at Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center.[16] She was one of the last surviving people born in the 1800s.[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Notice of death of Gertrude Weaver, arkansasonline.com; accessed April 6, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Gertrude Weaver Dies Five Days After Becoming World’s Oldest Person, newsweek.com; accessed April 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ Place of birth of Gertrude Gaines Weaver, grg.org; accessed April 13, 2015.
  4. ↑ Camden nursing home resident -- almost 117 -- now the world's oldest known person
  5. 1 2 "Happy 115th Birthday Mrs. Gertrude Weaver!". KTVE/myarklamiss.com. July 4, 2013. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  6. ↑ Frye, Cathy (July 5, 2014). "Arkansan called America's oldest Woman celebrates 116 years". NWA Media. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  7. ↑ Obituary, washingtonpost.com; accessed April 17, 2015.
  8. ↑ Izadi, Elahe (April 6, 2015). "Gertrude Weaver dies just five days after becoming the world's oldest person". Washington Post. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 Bleed, Jill (July 4, 2014). "At 116, Arkansas woman named oldest American". MSN. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Waxman, Olivia B. (July 7, 2014). "Meet The New Oldest American". Time. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  11. ↑ Flannigan, Patric (July 2, 2014). "Three keys to 116: America's oldest person shares basic secrets to her long, history-making life as". Camden News. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  12. ↑ Waxman, Olivia B. (March 4, 2015). "13 Secrets to Living Longer From the World's Oldest People". Time. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  13. ↑ Flannigan, Patric (June 17, 2014). "Weaver may be oldest person alive". Camden News. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Supercentenarian Data -- Table E". Gerontology Research Group. June 12, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  15. 1 2 "Camden Woman Becomes Oldest Person in the U.S.". KARK-TV. July 4, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  16. ↑ Chaffin, Sarah (April 6, 2015). "World's oldest person, Arkansan Gertrude Weaver, dies". KATV. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  17. ↑ Ferenc, Leslie (April 5, 2015). "Meet four women who were born in the 1800s — and are alive today". northumberlandnews.com. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
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