World's Oldest Person Maria de Jesus Dies
>> Friday, January 02, 2009
A Portuguese woman believed to be the world's oldest living person died on Friday at the age of 115, officials said.
Maria de Jesus, who was born on Sept. 10, 1893, and lived to see five great-great grandchildren born, died in an ambulance near the town of Tomar, officials said.
De Jesus had eaten her breakfast as usual and was being taken to the hospital because of swelling, her daughter, Maria Madalena, told the state news agency Lusa.
De Jesus had never before fallen ill and had lived her 115 years and 114 days without taking medication, her daughter said.
She reportedly only had had to visit a hospital once in her life before being transported by ambulance for treatment on Friday.
De Jesus refused to go to a nursing home despite her health beginning to fail over recent years, and she suffered from sight and hearing problems, family said.
In her last days, she was unable to recognize family, including Madalena, with whom she lived on a farm, the Daily Mail reported.
De Jesus only held the title of the world's oldest person, listed by Guinness World Records and the Gerontology Research Group, for about five weeks.
She received the title on Nov. 26, 2008, when Edna Parker died at the age of 115.
American Gertrude Baines, 114, is now the world's oldest known living person.
From: www.cbc.ca
