Woman 116th birthday

Belarussian Woman Celebrates 116th Birthday

AP Hanna Barysevich

MINSK -- A Belarussian woman who worked on a collective farm until she was 95 celebrated her 116th birthday with two wishes: for a bigger pension and a chance to go to a Catholic church for confession.

"I'll drink to my own health with pleasure," said Hanna Barysevich, who turned 116 on Wednesday. "I'm tired of living already, but God still hasn't collected me," she added with a smile.

Barysevich was born on May 5, 1888, in Buda, 60 kilometers east of Minsk, according to her passport. Her parents were poor, landless peasants. "From my early childhood I didn't know anything but physical labor," said Barysevich, who never learned to read or write.

After retiring from farm work, she moved to a house near Minsk that she shares with her daughter Nina, 78.

The worst period of her life was the reign of dictator Josef Stalin: Her husband, Ippolit, was declared an "enemy of the people" for allegedly harming the collective farm, arrested and taken to Siberia. He was never heard from again. She raised her three children on her own, including throughout World War II. "A lot of men courted me, but I preferred to live on my own," she said.

Today, Barysevich moves with difficulty but unaided. She complains of occasional headaches and worsening vision "but nothing else bothers me."

She attributes her longevity to genes: Her paternal grandmother was 113 when she died. As to diet, Barysevich prefers simple village food: homemade sausages, pork fat, milk and bread.

Nina said her mother has a good appetite and very strong nerves.

"Throughout my long life, I understood that it isn't worth it to get upset and take everything too close to the heart," Barysevich said.

For her birthday, she hoped for the raise in her monthly pension, equal to $50, and a chance to go to for confession.

Barysevich may well be the oldest woman in Belarus. Russia claims to have two women who are 122 years old. Both live in Chechnya and were put on record during the 2001 national census.

Last month, the Guinness Book of Records recognized a 114-year-old Puerto Rican as the world's oldest living woman. Barysevich said she had never thought of applying for the distinction.

Oldest woman in the United States celebrates 116th birthday

Kyle Michael Miller TODAY

July 5, 2014 at 3:03 PM ET

The United States wasn't the only one celebrating a milestone birthday Friday: Gertrude Weaver from south Arkansas turned 116, making her the oldest person in America and second oldest in the world.

The Gerontology Research Group, which analyzes U. S. Census records, awarded her the recognition.

Danny Johnston / AP

Gertrude Weaver poses at Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center in Camden, Ark. a day before her 116th birthday.

She lives at the Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center in Camden and enjoyed some cake with a few other residents who attended the birthday bash.

The Arkansas native married in 1915 and had four kids with husband. Three of Weaver's kids have died. She has one 93-year-old son who is still living.

Earlier this week, she told the Camden News the secret to her long life is trusting in God, hard work and loving everybody.

Video: Gertrude Weaver is the oldest confirmed American after celebrating her 116thbirthday Friday.

World's oldest person celebrates 116th birthday in Japan

Misao Okawa, the world's oldest woman, celebrates her 116th birthday at her nursing home in Osaka. Photograph: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images

Plenty of sleep and a varied diet are the secrets to a long and healthy life, according to Misao Okawa, the world's oldest person, who celebrated her 116th birthday on Wednesday.

Okawa, who became the world's oldest person last June following the death at 116 of fellow Japanese Jiroemon Kimura. was given a cake with just three candles at her nursing home in Osaka – one for each figure in her age.

Okawa is one of only five people alive – all women – confirmed as having been born in the 19th century.

While she has spoken of her love mackerel sushi, which she eats at least once a month, Okawa isn't particularly fastidious when it comes to food.

"She eats sushi, her favourite, and whatever she likes – beef stew, spaghetti, or sashimi – every day," said an employee of the nursing home where Okawa has lived for the past 18 years.

"She always says the secret to living a long time is to eat a good meal and relax," the employee added. For Okawa, that means an uninterrupted eight hours' sleep every night.

In 1898, the year Okawa was born, the Spanish-American war was in its infancy and Queen Victoria was still on the British throne. Okawa married in 1919 but her husband died in 1931, more than eight decades ago. Their marriage produced three children, two of whom are still alive and in their 90s. Okawa has four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Okawa has dealt with the media attention with incredulity.

When notified that she was in line to become the world's oldest woman last year, she reportedly said: "Have I really lived that long?"

The centenarian, one of about 24 Japanese alive who have passed the 110-year milestone, claims she has never been ill, and quickly recovered after breaking her leg in a fall at the age of 102. "She is in good shape, and is even still gaining weight," the nursing home employee said.

Japan was home to more than 54,000 centenarians last year and its elderly population will soar in the coming decades. About a quarter of its 127 million people are already aged 65 or over, but that is expected to swell to about 40% by the middle of the century.

At 116, Arkansas woman named oldest American

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A south Arkansas woman celebrated her 116th birthday Friday with cake, a party and a new title — she's now officially the oldest confirmed living American and second-oldest person in the world, the Gerontology Research Group said.

Gertrude Weaver spent her birthday at home at Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation in Camden, about 100 miles southwest of Little Rock. This year's festivities included the new award from the Gerontology Research Group, which analyzed U. S. Census records to determine that Weaver is the oldest living American, rather than 115-year-old Jeralean Talley, who was born in 1899.

The research group, which consults with the Guinness Book of World Records, found that the 1900 Census listed Weaver as 2 years old — putting her birthday in 1898, said Robert Young, the research group's database administrator and senior consultant for Guinness.

That makes Weaver the second-oldest person in the world behind 116-year-old Misao Okawa of Japan and the 11th oldest person of all time, he said.

"Normally, 116 would be old enough to be the world's oldest person," Young said. "There's kind of heavy competition at the moment."

Weaver was born in southwest Arkansas near the border with Texas, and was married in 1915. She and her husband had four children, all of whom have died except for a 93-year-old son. Along with Census records, the Gerontology Research Group used Weaver's 1915 marriage certificate, which listed her age as 17, to confirm her birth year, Young said.

View gallery

Gertrude Weaver, right, talks with her son Joe Weaver, Thursday, July 3, 2014 at Silver Oaks Health …

Although no birth record exists for Weaver, she celebrates her birthday each year on July 4 and did the same this year. At her 115th birthday party last year, Weaver was "waving and just eating it all up," said Vicki Vaughan, the marketing and admissions director at Silver Oaks.

"Most people want to know, 'Well, can she talk?'" Vaughan said. "Her health is starting to decline a little bit this year — I can tell a difference from last year, but she still is up and gets out of the room and comes to all of her meals, comes to activities. She'll laugh and smile and clap."

Weaver first stayed at the Camden nursing home at the age of 104 after she suffered a broken hip, Vaughan said. But Weaver recovered after rehabilitation and moved back home with her granddaughter, before returning to the nursing home at the age of 109.

Weaver cited three factors for her longevity: "Trusting in the Lord, hard work and loving everybody."

"You have to follow God. Don't follow anyone else," she told the Camden News this week. "Be obedient and follow the laws and don't worry about anything. I've followed him for many, many years and I ain't tired."

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