Oldest person you ever knew?

[Lady Day]

When I was about 11 and in Girl Scouts my troop went to a nursing home to read to seniors. I was to be assigned to a woman who was 103. She wouldnt even shake my hand. She was a bigot and called me the n word, so they assigned me to a nicer old lady.

LD

 

[Forgotten Man]

There are bitter people who still grace the earth… its sad really. I once saw an old clip from the 30s from Mr. Ripley, he was in South Louisiana I believe and showed twin African American sisters who were 100+ then, their mother was 125 years old! Now, that is old!!!

I recall being in Canada in Saskatoon SK. There was a convalescent home where I volunteered once a week. A few other young men and I would go to talk with the seniors. I recall meeting this one old gent, he liked the way I dressed, that sparked him into telling me that he was a pilot for the RCAF and flew P-40s during WWII! He told me before the way he’d go dancing to all the big bands… he loved Frank Sinatra when he was with Tommy Dorsey! He loved the clarinet too… I had mine and brought it with me and played some Goodman tunes… he was so happy! And I even drew a picture of a P-40 with RCAF markings… he was so very happy!

 

[Tiller]

My cousin's grandmother (she's married to my first cousin both are in their late 50s) is 107 years old. She was a dairy farmer's wife in her life, and claims drinking lots of milk, and believing in God is the key to her longevity.

As far as people I'm directly related to that I "meet" it would technically be my great-Grandmother who died at 104 when I was born in 1985. There is a picture of my Father, Mother and me as a new born sitting next to her in her hospital bed. From what I was told she died not long after that picture was taken.

I believe the world's oldest verified woman was Jeanne Calment, who died at 122.

 

[Foofoogal]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_anniversary

I have always understood 75th. to be platinum but from Wiki?

 

[Forgotten Man]

Anyone who's been married for 75 years deserves more then platinum! lol

 

[Shangas]

25 - Silver.
50 - Gold.
60 - Diamond.
75 - Platinum.

And I remember there were all these other anniversary names for like 5, 6, 10, 12 year anniversaries as well...like cotton and china and whatever...It was supposed to reflect the kind of anniversary present you were meant to give your wife/husband. Like on the 'China anniversary' it would be something like a new tea-set or on the 'Cotton anniversary' it would be a new dress-shirt for your husband, and so on and so forth...I found a website covering them all once, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Oldest person I ever met? Frank Buckles, last living US WWI vet, 108 years old.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Oldest person I ever met? Frank Buckles, last living US WWI vet, 108 years old.

LUCKY!!!:eusa_clap

 

[Tiller]

Oldest person I ever met? Frank Buckles, last living US WWI vet, 108 years old.

Wow I envy you! I'd love to sit down and talk to him, especially considering he is is one of only 4 surviving WW1 vets alive. Combine that with the fact the he was also a prisoner of war of the Japanese during WW2 and I'm sure he has no short supply of stories.

I'd love to ask him what's it like being the last surviving link of an entire generation? Does he feel he's outlived his time, or is he happy to be seeing things he never thought he would see?

 

[Hal]

A gentleman I know - the father (and father-in law) of friends - is 98 years of age and, though in some physical decline, is as mentally alert as ever. He served in the Colonial Service of Great Britan for many years, and his wife and he celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary four years ago - sadly, she died a few months after that celebration.
Nor far from where he lives, a friend of mine knows an old lady of 99 who, every week, takes a bus journey of 30-40 miles (round-trip) to visit her twin sister! Also, my former boss's mother was, at the age of 90, the youngest of four sisters - again, very alert and lively old ladies.
This sort of thing is fine so long as one's faculties are retained, but long life without them might not have very much quality.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

I'd love to ask him what's it like being the last surviving link of an entire generation? Does he feel he's outlived his time, or is he happy to be seeing things he never thought he would see?

I little of both I think. I need to get the interview all written down sometime. Maybe I could post it here!

 

[jayem]

There are bitter people who still grace the earth… its sad really. I once saw an old clip from the 30s from Mr. Ripley, he was in South Louisiana I believe and showed twin African American sisters who were 100+ then, their mother was 125 years old! Now, that is old!!

Eh, I don't know if that's true, since the worlds oldest woman ever documented was 122 yrs old.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Calment

 

[Lillemor]

Hmmm....the oldest person whose age I knew was my maternal grandmother who died at 97 but a few of the ladies in the nursing home I worked at 12 years ago were possible 1-2 years older. I don't remember any of the residents receiving a letter from the queen for a 100th birthday but that doesn't mean that there weren't any around that age. Some of them had memories that appeared to have preceded my grandparents 1910s generation.

 

[RetroPat]

The oldest person I ever new was my grandma's cousin, Eulalia. She was born in 1899 and lived to be 100. She was very sweet and as she had no children and was very close to my grandma, we inherited many wonderful antiques from her. I actually have an Eastlake rocker and a Victorian marble top table in my bedroom that came from her and I always think of her when I see them My paternal grandfather lived to be 97 and by the standards of his family died young. Both his parents and grandparents were into their 100's when they passed.

 

[Widebrim]

Oldest person I ever met? Frank Buckles, last living US WWI vet, 108 years old.

Hope you took lots of photos, and a video recording...

 

[vitanola]

Well, my paternal grandmother was born in '74 (my grandfather, who died ten years before I was born, was born in '62, my father, the last of nine, in '23). Al Engle, the pioneering aviator was born in '79, was probably the eldest fellow not a member of my family.

Oddly enough, my grandfather was the youngest child of a second marriage. His mother was 40 when he was born, but his father was nearly seventy. Odd, for although I was born in 1961 (and my younger brother in 1967), our great-grandfather was born in the Eighteenth Century. HIS father was born in either 1739 or 1743. Wouldn't THAT make a fine five-generation photograph!

 

[H.Johnson]

Mr. Harry Patch of Street, Somerset when aged 110 (died aged 111 at Wells ). Wounded in the trenches in World War 1 and lived an exemplary life.

Sadly, his two sons and two wives died before him - one of the costs of old age.

 

[Lillemor]

fftopic:

And I remember there were all these other anniversary names for like 5, 6, 10, 12 year anniversaries as well...

12½ (not a typo) - Copper and is often celebrated here.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Hope you took lots of photos, and a video recording...

I did. Actually, we didn't take many photos, but did video of the whole thing. Sadly my interview voice isn't the best, but his story is great. The recording is over two hours long...

 

[warbird]

The oldest person who I guess I have ever known was my maternal grandmother. She was quite a remarkable person and one of the most influential on who I am today I guess.

She was born in 1890. At 13 she was sent from Europe to America by her parents to attend college. By 22 she had a doctorate. She was fluent in 10 languages and spoke more than that. In the early 1920's she was engaged to a young man who was to be a minister and they had agreed to go together after being married to Africa to be missionaries. At the last minute he backed out on the marriage and the mission job he had signed on for. So feeling it was her duty to adhere to her promises, she went to Africa alone.

She lived in Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe) and Mozambique. After arriving she ended up taking in several orphaned children. Never having intended to run an orphanage, one ended up being thrust upon her by necessity. This responsibility meant she had many mouths to feed and care for. She hunted the land herself with the help of village men she hired and taught farming to her help. She dispatched animals who came into the village to kill or ransack the food stores. She spent the next 20 years there raising children and educating them. In her last years when her hands were hurting too much to write I would write the letters for her to her children, now in their 70-80's.

In all she spent 35 years of her life in Africa and I will never forget the time I spent with her learning things I would never have otherwise learned. She left there for the last time after things went downhill in the early 1980's.

She was strong well into her 90's and we often went for hikes together in hilly wooded areas in her mid-90's. She physically went downhill after hitting 100, but her mind stayed sharp until her death at 104.