Besse Berry Cooper (néeBrown; August 26, 1896 – December 4, 2012)[2] was an American supercentenarian[3] who was the world's oldest living person from June 21, 2011, until her death in 2012.
Cooper was born Besse Berry Brown in Sullivan County, Tennessee, on August 26, 1896, the third of eight children born to Richard Brown (1861–1932) and Angeline Berry (1866–1927).[4] As a child, she did well in school and was an avid reader.[5] She graduated from East Tennessee State Normal School (now East Tennessee State University) in 1916. It was during this period she became a suffragist,[6] and was a teacher in Tennessee before moving to Georgia in 1917.[7] She taught in Between, Georgia, until 1929.
Later lifeedit
She married Luther Cooper in 1924, and had four children with him. Luther died aged 68 in December 1963. Following her husband's death, Cooper lived alone on their farm until 2001, when she moved into a nursing home at the age of 105.[8][9] She spent her final years in Monroe, Georgia.[10] Cooper died of respiratory failure on December 4, 2012, after contracting stomach flu.[11]
Longevityedit
Cooper became Georgia's oldest resident on January 19, 2009, following the death of 113-year-old Beatrice Farve.[8] She was thought to be the world's oldest living person after the death of Eunice Sanborn on January 31, 2011[12] until May 18, 2011, when Brazil's Maria Gomes Valentim was verified as older.[13] On June 21, 2011, Maria Gomes Valentim died, and Cooper became the world's oldest living person.[14] Cooper reportedly attributed her longevity to "minding her own business" and avoiding junk food.[15]
At the time of her 116th birthday in August 2012, Cooper had four children, 11 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.[16][17] In July 2012, a proposal was advanced to name a Georgia bridge in Cooper's honor; a bridge in Between, Georgia, was named Besse Brown Cooper Bridge on August 24, 2012.[14][18][19][20] In October 2013, Cooper's grandson Paul Cooper founded the Besse Brown Cooper Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to "providing financial, legal, medical and public relations support" for supercentenarians worldwide.[21]
^"World's Oldest Woman Dies at 116". Loganville-Grayson Patch. December 4, 2012. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
^ ab"World's 'oldest person' Besse Cooper dies aged 116". BBC. December 5, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
^"World's oldest person dies at age 116". CNN. December 5, 2012.
^"Governor visits Besse". Walton Tribune. March 30, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
^"Besse Cooper, World's Oldest Person, Dies at Age 116". Time. December 5, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
^"World's oldest woman Eunice Sanborn dies in US at 114". BBC News. January 31, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
^Yapp, Robin (May 18, 2011). "Brazilian woman aged 114 is world's oldest person". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
^ abSwanepoel, Sharon (August 26, 2012). . Loganville-Grayson Patch. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
^"A look back at 2011". Walton Tribune. January 1, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
^Milligan, Stephen (August 29, 2012). "Cooper continues to make history". Walton Tribune. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
^Schwartz, Robbie (August 22, 2012). "Bridge naming for World's oldest person". Walton Tribune. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
^"Effort to name bridge for Besse Cooper". Walton Tribune. July 1, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
^"Dedication of Besse Cooper Bridge Scheduled for Friday". Loganville-Grayson Patch. August 23, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
^"Bridge dedicated to world's oldest person". Walton Tribune. August 24, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
^. Besse Brown Cooper Foundation. 2013. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
External linksedit
Besse Brown Cooper Foundation February 24, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, a nonprofit support organisation for supercentenarians founded by Cooper's grandson
April 10, 2024
besse, cooper, besse, berry, cooper, née, brown, august, 1896, december, 2012, american, supercentenarian, world, oldest, living, person, from, june, 2011, until, death, 2012, cooper, 2011bornbesse, berry, brownaugust, 1896, 1896, sullivan, county, tennessee, . Besse Berry Cooper nee Brown August 26 1896 December 4 2012 2 was an American supercentenarian 3 who was the world s oldest living person from June 21 2011 until her death in 2012 Besse CooperCooper in 2011BornBesse Berry BrownAugust 26 1896 1896 08 26 Sullivan County Tennessee U S Died 2012 12 04 December 4 2012 aged 116 years 100 days 1 2 Monroe Georgia U S Alma materEast Tennessee State Normal School graduated 1916 Known forOldest living person from June 21 2011 to December 4 2012SpouseLuther CooperChildren4 Contents 1 Early life education and career 2 Later life 3 Longevity 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEarly life education and career editCooper was born Besse Berry Brown in Sullivan County Tennessee on August 26 1896 the third of eight children born to Richard Brown 1861 1932 and Angeline Berry 1866 1927 4 As a child she did well in school and was an avid reader 5 She graduated from East Tennessee State Normal School now East Tennessee State University in 1916 It was during this period she became a suffragist 6 and was a teacher in Tennessee before moving to Georgia in 1917 7 She taught in Between Georgia until 1929 Later life editShe married Luther Cooper in 1924 and had four children with him Luther died aged 68 in December 1963 Following her husband s death Cooper lived alone on their farm until 2001 when she moved into a nursing home at the age of 105 8 9 She spent her final years in Monroe Georgia 10 Cooper died of respiratory failure on December 4 2012 after contracting stomach flu 11 Longevity editCooper became Georgia s oldest resident on January 19 2009 following the death of 113 year old Beatrice Farve 8 She was thought to be the world s oldest living person after the death of Eunice Sanborn on January 31 2011 12 until May 18 2011 when Brazil s Maria Gomes Valentim was verified as older 13 On June 21 2011 Maria Gomes Valentim died and Cooper became the world s oldest living person 14 Cooper reportedly attributed her longevity to minding her own business and avoiding junk food 15 At the time of her 116th birthday in August 2012 Cooper had four children 11 grandchildren 13 great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren 16 17 In July 2012 a proposal was advanced to name a Georgia bridge in Cooper s honor a bridge in Between Georgia was named Besse Brown Cooper Bridge on August 24 2012 14 18 19 20 In October 2013 Cooper s grandson Paul Cooper founded the Besse Brown Cooper Foundation a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing financial legal medical and public relations support for supercentenarians worldwide 21 See also editOldest people 100 oldest American people ever List of the verified oldest peopleReferences edit World s Oldest Woman Dies at 116 Loganville Grayson Patch December 4 2012 Archived from the original on January 11 2013 Retrieved December 5 2012 a b World s oldest person Besse Cooper dies aged 116 BBC December 5 2012 Retrieved December 5 2012 World s oldest person dies at age 116 CNN December 5 2012 Oldest American dies Chicago Tribune Associated Press March 9 2010 p 3 Dennis Joe August 29 2004 Cooper marks 108th birthday Walton Tribune Retrieved August 30 2012 World s oldest person dies at age 116 CNN December 5 2012 Archived from the original on April 8 2023 Brooks James February 1 2011 World s oldest person is a graduate of what is now ETSU Johnson City Press Archived from the original on October 1 2011 Retrieved October 4 2012 a b Milligan Stephen August 26 2007 At 111 she s second oldest in Georgia Walton Tribune Retrieved April 6 2010 Birthday kiss for a centenarian Atlanta Journal Constitution August 27 2009 p B1 Governor visits Besse Walton Tribune March 30 2011 Retrieved September 20 2012 Besse Cooper World s Oldest Person Dies at Age 116 Time December 5 2012 Retrieved July 6 2013 World s oldest woman Eunice Sanborn dies in US at 114 BBC News January 31 2011 Retrieved May 22 2022 Yapp Robin May 18 2011 Brazilian woman aged 114 is world s oldest person The Daily Telegraph Retrieved August 16 2012 a b Swanepoel Sharon August 26 2012 Sweet 116th Birthday Wishes to the World s Oldest Living Person Loganville Grayson Patch Archived from the original on August 31 2012 Retrieved August 27 2012 A look back at 2011 Walton Tribune January 1 2012 Retrieved January 20 2012 Milligan Stephen August 29 2012 Cooper continues to make history Walton Tribune Retrieved February 7 2013 Schwartz Robbie August 22 2012 Bridge naming for World s oldest person Walton Tribune Retrieved June 26 2013 Effort to name bridge for Besse Cooper Walton Tribune July 1 2012 Retrieved July 31 2012 Dedication of Besse Cooper Bridge Scheduled for Friday Loganville Grayson Patch August 23 2012 Retrieved February 20 2014 Bridge dedicated to world s oldest person Walton Tribune August 24 2012 Retrieved August 25 2012 About us Besse Brown Cooper Foundation 2013 Archived from the original on October 26 2014 Retrieved October 20 2014 External links editBesse Brown Cooper Foundation Archived February 24 2020 at the Wayback Machine a nonprofit support organisation for supercentenarians founded by Cooper s grandson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Besse Cooper amp oldid 1217748148, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
