Besse Cooper, native of Tennessee, born August 26, 1896 has passed away at age 116. She was the oldest human alive, a title that now have passed to Dina Manfredini born April 4, 1897 now age 115.
Mrs. Cooper has said that the secret to her longevity was ”minding her own business and eating no junk food.” Mrs. Cooper passed away with her hair just done, and according to her son it looked like she was ready to go.
The perspective Mrs. Cooper gives is amazing. When the first Ford model-T came of the assembly line she was 12. She was 15 when Titanic made her historic journey. At the first television broadcast she was 32. When WWII broke out Mrs. Cooper was 43. In 1969 when a man walked on the moon for the first time she was 73. On August 6, 1991 when the first world wide web site went online Mrs. Cooper was 94 and just about to turn 95 and at the turn of the millennium she had reached the age 104 and was still going strong.
Mrs. Cooper has seen 12 decades, three centuries and two millennia. She leaves behind 4 children, 12 grandchildren and more than a dozen great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
