Georgia home to world's oldest person

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

At 114 years and 158 days old, Besse Cooper of Walton County quietly became the oldest person in the world Monday.

Enlarge photo

Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com Besse Cooper blows out the candles on her cake as she celebrates her 113th birthday at Walton Regional Medical Center Nursing Home in Monroe, Ga. on August 26, 2009.

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Nurses at the Park Place Nursing Facility in Monroe weren't aware of the news when reached by the AJC late Monday.

But with the Monday morning death of Eunice Sanborn of Texas, Cooper moved to the top of the list of the world's supercentenarians, according to the Gerontology Research Group. Supercentenarians are those who the group has confirmed have lived at least 110 years.

Even Cooper's son, 75-year-old Sidney Cooper, wasn't immediately aware of his mother's No. 1 status. Sidney Cooper said his nephew in Amsterdam learned of Sanborn's death and called his mother in South Carolina. The woman in South Carolina then called her sister -- Sidney Cooper's wife.

Sidney Cooper's son was planning to tell his grandmother the news later Monday evening.

"She will comprehend when we tell her," Sidney Cooper said. “She’s with it most of the time.”

Besse Cooper was born Aug. 26, 1896, in Tennessee, but moved to Walton County during World War I to teach because teachers in Georgia made more money, her son previously said. She married her husband, Luther, in 1924 and stopped teaching school when she had her first child at age 33. Luther Cooper died in 1963.

In addition to her four children, Besse Cooper has 12 grandchildren and more than a dozen great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Her family members helped her celebrate her 114th birthday in August, complete with cake, balloons, songs and an Elvis impersonator.

At the time of her birthday party, Besse Cooper was the third-oldest person in the world. On Nov. 4, French nun Eugenie Blanchard died on the French Caribbean island of St. Barts. Sanborn died Monday at her home.

Besse Cooper's family credits her lifestyle and genes for her longevity.

"I mind my own business and I don't eat junk food," she said at her 113th birthday celebration.

Sidney Cooper says his mother has lost weight in recent months and doesn't eat much, but she still has days where she's involved in the conversation. The family feels lucky to have had her in their lives for so long, he said.

“Everyone’s pulling for her to make 115," Sidney Cooper said.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.