World's oldest person, Besse Cooper turns 116
It's difficult enough to fit 16 candles on a birthday cake, but
trying squeezing 116 on one.
But Besse Cooper, the world's oldest person according to the Guinness
World Records chose to use numbers instead of actual candles when she
celebrated her 116 th birthday Sunday. Guinness claims Cooper is one of
only eight people who have reached 116.
In honour of Cooper's achievement, a bridge was named after her in
Monroe, Ga., where she lives by the Walton County Board of
Commissioners, according to the Walton Tribune. ribbon cutting ceremony
was held Friday, August 24 for the bridge opening.
"The older she has gotten the more wittier she has gotten," her son,
Sidney Cooper, told the Walton Tribune. He also relayed a message from
Cooper, who was unable to attend the ceremony, who said, "I'm glad I
gave them a reason to name it."
Cooper was certified as the world's oldest person by Guinness World
Recordsin January 2011, although she briefly had to give up her title
when it was discovered that Brazilian-born Maria Gomes Valentin was 48
days older. But when Valentin died six months later, Cooper was
reinstated as the world's oldest person.
Cooper was born in Sullivan, Tenn., in 1896, according to the Walton
Tribune.
She moved to Monroe during World War I to become a teacher. In 1924,
she married Luther and the couple had four children.Today, Cooper has 12
grandchildren and many great-grandchildren and great-great
grandchildren, according to the Guinness World Records. Cooper has a
secret to achieving 116 years of life. "I mind my own business," she
told the Guinness World Records. "And I don't eat junk food." -
Yahoonews
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