Gertrude Weaver became the world’s oldest-known living person last week after the death of 117-year-old Misao Okawa in Tokyo. But her reign lasted a mere six days as Weaver died at a senior care facility in Camden, Arkansas this morning. The cause of death was complications from pneumonia, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Weaver seems to have enjoyed her brief reign as the world’s oldest person. The administrator of the senior care facility where Weaver lived said she liked it when people read her articles about her feat, reports Reuters. Weaver was going to turn 117 on July 4 and she had said she wanted President Obama to attend her birthday party, notes KATV.
“She was a really sweet lady. She was relatively perky and coherent when I talked with her,” Camden Mayor Marie Trisollini told the Associated Press. “When you asked for advice on how to live a long life she would say, `Use a lot of skin moisturizer, treat everyone nice, love your neighbor and eat your own cooking. Don’t eat at fast food places.’”
The officially oldest person in the world is now Jeralean Talley, who lives in the Detroit area. She was born on May 23, 1899, according to the Gerontology Research Group.
