Peaches usually rot, but this Georgian is in her prime! Besse Cooper is now the world’s oldest person. Find out her age and wisdom after the jump!
Emma RABID
About 15 to 20 people celebrated the birthday of Besse Cooper, who is listed as the world’s oldest person.
Cooper turned 115 Friday.
Her daughter-in-law Edith Cooper said a small group of relatives and friends gathered at a Monroe nursing home, where Besse Cooper enjoyed two small slivers of her birthday cake and nodded with approval as musician Mike Cronic sang “Tennessee Waltz.”
Cooper was born in Tennessee and moved to Georgia during World War I to find work as a teacher. She has 12 grandchildren and more than a dozen great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Her husband Luther died in 1963.
Cooper was declared the world’s oldest in January. In May, Guinness learned that Maria Gomes Valentin of Brazil was 48 days older. Valentin died June 21.
