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.
