The world's oldest living person, 115-year-old Dina Manfredini,
died earlier this morning at the Bishop Drumm Retirement Center in
Johnston, Iowa, United States.
Dina was born on April 4th, 1897, before both Amelia Earhart and
William Faulker. A native of Pievepelago, Italy, Dina moved to a
tiny Des Moines, Iowa mining camp in 1920 with her late husband,
Riccardo Manfredini.
Senior Consultant of Gerontology for Guinness World Records,
Robert Young, confirmed that Dina is the only verified Italian
person to have reached the age of 115 in documented history. She
had also recently obtained the title of the "world's oldest
immigrant", previously set by Danish-born American, Christian
Mortensen in 1998.
Dina had held the world's oldest living person title for 13 days
but she does not have the shortest tenure. The shortest reign
belonged to American born Emma Tillman who held the world's oldest
person title for 4 days (January 24 - 28, 2007).
Dina took pride in her gardening skills and credited her longevity
to "hard work and everything in moderation". Her succession to the
title came after the news of Besse Cooper, the previous oldest
living person, passed away Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at age
116.
"We are fortunate to have had her this long in our lives as a
mother and grandmother," The Manfredini family commented. "She
truly was a special gift from God and touched a lot of
lives. She will always be remembered as a great cook, baker,
and gardener."
Guinness World Records sends their deepest condolences to the
Manfredini family.
World's oldest living person dies at age 115
By GUINNESS WORLD RECORD NEWS
Published December 17, 2012
