The mantle now passes to Madam Marie Marthe Augustine Lemaître Brémont-Mésange.

This photo, taken on her 114th birthday, is from Le Pays (The Country) newspaper of Alsace, FRANCE (April 26, 2000).

Breaking News

March 18, 2002; We are sad to report that Mr. Louis Epstein has just heard from Ms. Lori Ferris that her Great-Grandmother Maud Farris-Luse died this evening, having been hospitalized with pneumonia last night, She was aged 115 years, 56 days the oldest person since Mrs. Sarah Knauss of Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Maud (Davis) Farris-Luse
Mrs. Luse was born on January 21, 1887 and died March 18, 2002. She lived in Coldwater, Michigan, which is just North of the Northeast corner of Indiana, where she moved as a child in 1891, and from there moved to Coldwater sometime in the 1920s. She had a sister who lived to be 99 (two other siblings apparently died young). Their Mother died at 87 but their Father was murdered at age 62 (and was the child of parents who both died young). She married a man who died aged nearly 74, and had a Brother who died at 75.

Her children have generally taken after her husband's longevity rather than hers. The firstborn died at 82, the others have all died at 77 or less (the last-born is the only survivor, and she is 73 and ailing). Mrs. Luse had 26 Grandchildren by the time she was 103 (there is no current count). In addition, she had 85 Great-grandchildren and 65 Great-great-grandchildren. Click on the right-hand picture of her above for more details.

Update on January 21, 2002; Coldwater, MI (AP) -- The woman who holds the record as the world's oldest person celebrated her 115th birthday with relatives at the nursing home where she lives. (See photo above.) Maud Farris-Luse, who turned 115 on Monday, is listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest person in the world with proper documentation. "If you stop and think about it, she's seen the invention of the radio, the television, the space shuttle - she's seen everything," said Granddaughter Susie Crandall, 53. Crandall said "Farris-Luse can no longer speak or hear. I hold her hand and give her kisses and tell her that I love her, but she doesn't appear to understand what's going on," she said. "If I could turn out to be half the woman that she's been, I'd consider myself lucky."

Mrs. Farris-Luse has lived in the nursing home since falling at home in 1991 and breaking her hip. "She's still very healthy," said Ms. Teri DeMars, Marketing Director of the Laurels at Coldwater Nursing Home. "She still drinks her milk every day and eats all her meals in the dining hall."

December 2000; There are rumors from two sources (CNN-TV International) that there is a woman living in South Africa who is 129 years old, but, unfortunately, we cannot corroborate this information further.

On November 22, 2000, Mrs. Ella Miller of Virginia Died at [Presumed] Age 119 (See below for Correction)

Mr. Louis Epstein reports that, if her age can be authenticated, she would supersede Mrs. Sarah Knauss as the recordholder for the USA [by less than one year]. However, Mr. Robert Young has reason to believe that her claim is exaggerated, and that, based on certain calculations, she is really only 109 years old. Click for what we know about Ella Miller.

May 20, 2002; Robert Young now reports that Mrs. Ella Miller, the woman who was said to be 119 (almost 120) when she died (Recall that I said Social Security listed her as 115. and I said she could have been as young as 109.) Well, now we have the answer: according to the Kestenbaum Study -- She was born December 6, 1888 and died November 21, 2000. The Kestenbaum Study listed her as a member of Group-1 or validated cases, which means the birth date was confirmed. This case is a perfect example, because it demonstrates that both sides have a point to make: Skeptics will point out that Ella was not really 119, but was 8 years younger than claimed. Supporteres will say that just because a case is exaggerated doesn't mean that the individual wasn't a real Supercentenarian. In this case, it looks like both sides were right, as she would have been 111 years, 351 days old at her death.

October 23, 2001;

Mrs. Mary Delvina (Morisette) Dahlheimer, age 112 (L).
The above photo from the front page of the Elk River Star News of Elk River, Minnesota of Mrs. Dahlheimer at her 112th birthday party (L). She is taking a look at one of her birthday cards with her daughter Florence Johnson, age 90 (R).
March 13, 2002; (AP) We are sad to report that Mrs. Dahlheimer died on this day. She turned 113 last New Year's Eve, and as recently as last month was reported to be playing cards a few times a week. She raised seven children who in turn produced 34 grandchildren, 102 great-grandchildren, and 65 great-great-grandchildren, many of whom grew up with memories of visiting with her.

Ref: Chuck Haga, Staff Writer, "More Than a Century Passed Before Her Eyes," Star Tribune of St. Paul, MN, pp. A1,12 (March 16, 2002). We wish to thank Mr. Warren Erickson of Pine City, MN for sending us this clipping.

October 26, 2001; Mr. Robert Young reported today that Mrs. Daphne Brann was born August 4, 1890 in Oldtown, Maryland and died on March 10, 2001 at age 110 years, 218 days in St. Petersburg, Florida. She was the nation's oldest known Minister at the time of her death; as shown in the photo, she voted in the November 2000 Presidential Election. The story didn't say whom she voted for, but she reportedly got a congratulatory letter from Governor Jeb Bush. Therefore, we image that she must have been a Republican. Sadly, her obituary stated that she had a heart attack in the hospital, but that the staff was reluctant to resuscitate her, since "it might do more harm than good." It appears that the "no code" instructions (from the patient or from the family?) is consistent with the notion that "110 years is old enough;" so its alright to let her die in peace. However, Mr. Young goes on to editorialize, "That was a shame, considering her mind was still sharp."

October 29, 2001; Mr. Robert Young has sent us three scanned copies of a magazine photo of

Mrs. Zelda Viola (Strongman) McCague of CANADA who was born on March 31, 1888 and died on August 6, 2001 at age 113 years 131 days.

Mr. Robert Young of Atlanta, Georgia has E-mailed us a photo of

Mrs. Geneva Arlene (Grazer [or Grazier]) McNicholl was born on December 10, 1889 in Lafayette, Oregon, and is now112 years old. This particular photo was taken on December 4th while she was 111. We have just learned that she has now passed away on January 22, 2002 at age 112 years 43 days.

January 2, 2002; Mr. Robert Young of Atlanta, Georgia has E-mailed us a photo of

Mrs. (Emma) Verona (Calhoun) Johnston of Worthington, Ohio. She was born August 6, 1890 and is now 112 years old. She is said to walk up the stairs to her second-floor living quarters on her own and can do arithmetic in her head. She was confirmed as having graduated from Drake University in the year 1912.

July 31, 2002; Mr. Robert Young of Atlanta has now validated Mrs. Johnston's documentation. She was born on August 6, 1890 in Indianola, Iowa. The 1900 census for Ringgold County, Iowa lists Emma V. Calhoun, age 9, born August 1890, child of Joseph and Emma P. Calhoun. This accords with the other information, namely the family-tree records, Drake University records, Birth Affidavit, and Passport Application.

December 1, 2004; We have just learned from her Son-in-Law that the currently Oldest Living American and Second-Oldest in the World, died this afternoon at about 2 PM EST in Worthington, a Columbus suburb. Emma was the Oldest Living American since May 2004.

The Oldest Living American title now goes to Mrs. Bettie Wilson, 114, of New Albany, MS. Mrs. Wilson was born September 13, 1890. The world's oldest person remains Hendrijke van Andel-Schipper of the Netherlands, who was born June 29, 1890 and is 114 years old.

January 30, 2002; Mr. Robert Young of Atlanta, Georgia has E-mailed us a photo of

Mrs. Charlotte Marion (Milburn) Hughes, who still holds the record for the oldest authenticated British Supercentenarian at 115 years, 228 days [August 1, 1877 - March 17, 1993]. The photo was obtained from The Times of London.

February 7, 2002

Mrs. Hazel Houghton (Penniman) Luther was born on December 11, 1889. She is 111 years in the photos above.

On her 113th birthday. Click for more details from the Daytona Beach News Journal.

January 31, 2003; Hazel's niece called us today to report that Mrs. Luther passed away this morning (around 2 AM EST). Hazel was the oldest member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants and the oldest graduate of the Juilliard School of Music (then called the Institute of Musical Arts).

February 2, 2003; Datona Beach, FL ( Tampa Tribune) " Mrs. Hazel Penniman Luther, the oldest woman in Florida at age 113, died Friday," officials said. "She was taken to Halifax Medical Center early Friday, when she developed a cold and high temperature," said the Rev. Pam Stewart. She died peacefully in the emergency room. Born December 11, 1889, Luther was the world's ninth-oldest living person, according to The Gerontology Research Group. She was the fifth-oldest living American and the second- oldest Floridian; Mr. John McMorran of Lakeland, FL was born 175 days before Mrs. Luther. At her 113th birthday party, Luther was asked whether she wanted to live forever. "I think I already have," she replied. Luther earned two diplomas in singing. She performed classical music and taught voice lessons. She met her husband, Mr. Robert Luther, in 1918 as he sang bass at church. He was a First Lieutenant Infantryman in Washington, D.C., and they later moved to Detroit, where he worked for Provident Mutual Life Insurance Company. The couple had no children.

March 20, 2002; Following the death of Maud Farris-Luse on March 18th,

Mrs. Nellie Florence (Wakefield) Cross, age 112, is one of the oldest women in America. She was born on October 28, 1889. The above photo was taken in 1999 with her Great-Great-Great-Grandchildren! Even older than Nellie was Mrs. Grace Clawson who died in 2002 at the age of 114.

April 3, 2002; We are sad to report that Mrs. Nellie Cross died this morning at her home in Des Moines, Iowa. She is survived by nearly 200 descendants including 27 Great-Great-Great-Grandchildren. Mr. Louis Epstein of New York writes that "She was the second-oldest authenticated person in the United States, after Mr. John McMorran and the oldest in the history of Iowa, a state with one of the highest concentrations of Centenarians. At the moment we have no fully authenticated cases in the US between Mr. McMorran and Mr. Fred Hale (December 1, 1890), but both Mrs. Hazel Luther (December 1889) and Mrs. Verona Johnston (August 1890) seem close to being validated."

September 10, 2002; Mr Bart Versieck of Belgium has sent us (by way of Mr. Robert Young of Atlanta, Georgia) this picture of

Mrs. Catharina Ververs who was born in Belgium on October 27, 1888 and died January 24, 1999 at age 110 years 51 days.

Here ends the 3rd file containing Photos of Women Supercentenarians.
Click to continue to File No. 4 of 15.