Besse Cooper: Listed as 'world's oldest' (1896-2012)
Besse Cooper of Georgia was declared the world's oldest person in January.
AP Photo: David Goldman. In this Feb. 1, 2011 file photo, Besse Cooper, sits in her room at a nursing home, in Monroe, Ga.
Note: The Associated Press misidentified the previous holder of the world's oldest person. Her name was Maria Gomes Valentim, not Maria Gomes Valentin.
MONROE, Ga. — The woman who was listed as the world's oldest person has died in a Georgia nursing home at age 116.
Besse Cooper died peacefully Tuesday afternoon in Monroe, according to her son Sidney Cooper. Monroe is about 45 miles east of Atlanta.
Cooper said his mother had been ill over the weekend with a stomach virus, then felt better on Monday. On Tuesday he said she had her hair set and watched a Christmas video, but later had trouble breathing. He said she was put on oxygen in her room and died there about 2 p.m.
She was declared the world's oldest person in January. In May, Guinness World Records learned that Maria Gomes Valentim of Brazil was 48 days older. Valentin died June 21.
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