Jeralean Talley and godson Tyler Kinloch pictured with one of the seven catfish she caught at the Spring Valley Trout Farm in Dexter, Mich., on June 16, 2012.Courtesy of Michael Kinloch
An American woman who became the world’s oldest person earlier this year has died at 116, a family member said Thursday.
The death of Jeralean Talley was confirmed to NBC News by Thelma Holloway, Talley’s 77-year-old daughter. Talley’s title had been verified by the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group, which tracks supercentenarians. The Inkster, Mich., resident celebrated her birthday on May 23 and was fêted by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in Inkster, which also gave her $116—a dollar for each year of her life.
Talley was named the world’s oldest person in April after the two women who held the title before her died within the same week—Misao Okawa of Osaka, Japan, at 117, and Gertrude Weaver of Camden, Ark., at 116. Friends and family told TIME in the past that Talley had many hobbies, including fishing, bowling, making quilts, sewing dresses and—toward the end of her life—watching Jeopardy! and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
A lover of comfort foods like chicken wings and Hog Head Cheese (a combination of pigs’ ears and feet), Holloway did note that her mother stayed away from butter and cheese recently, though not for health reasons; Holloway added that a doctor said Talley was in good health during a check-up the week she turned 116.
Asked at the time about her secret to long life? Being kind to others and having faith in God.
Photographing a Kiss: Long Time Love Affairs
Joseph and Dorothy Bolotin
Sharon, Pennsylvania
Married on June 16, 1938.
Dorothy, "I never think of it in terms of years. I think of it in terms of good years. In love, hot
romance doesn’t last forever. So I would say that yes, I think love changes. I would say we’re still
in love. It’s focusing, doing little things. He’s an amazing man."Lauren FleishmanJohn and Sherma Campbell
Star Valley, Wyoming
Married on May 13, 1955.
Sherma, "When you start out, you think you love each other as much as you possibly can,but love
grows—just like your inner self grows as time goes by and you have experiences.And now at this
stage of the game, I love him even more. I can’t even imagine life without him."Lauren FleishmanJin Lin and Lai Mei Chen
Brooklyn, New York Married on February 4, 1961.
Jin Lin, "We had so many things in common it was like our hearts were the same."Lauren Fleishmande'Spagnolis
Aldo de’Spagnolis and Maria Filiozzi
Itri, Italy
Married on October 23, 1949.
Aldo, "When I first saw her, she was 14 and I was 22.Was there a concern that she was too young
for me? No! Even now I look like a young child! Yes, even now I’m still young."Lauren FleishmanJake and Mary Jacobs
Solihull, England
Married on April 27, 1948.
Mary,"Jake said to me,'Would it ever be possible for me to marry you?' And I said,'Possible but
not probable!' And that’s how it was. It wasn’t likely that I would ever marry him, and he knew
that. So when he went home to Trinidad, my mother and father breathed a sigh of relief. But he
used to write, and he said, 'I’m thinking I might come back to England.'"Lauren FleishmanKissin
Yevgeniy and Lyubov Kissin
Brooklyn, New York
Married on June 29, 1941.
Yevgeniy, "We met at a dancing party. It was in January 1938. My friend invited me to the party, he said there would be a lot of beautiful young girls. Another cadet with high boots had approached
her, but she didn’t like high boots and so she said no to him. I was the second one to approach
her. I had a different uniform, but I’m still not sure if it was my uniform or my face that attracted
her to me."Lauren FleishmanItig and Golda Pollac
Brooklyn, New York
Married on August 13, 1946.
Golda, "I would say love came little by little. Not right away.We were young.And he was older, but I
liked him. He spoke to me in a very nice way."Lauren FleishmanYaakov and Mariya Shapirshetyn
Brooklyn, New York
Married on July 6, 1949.
Yaakov, "What is the secret to love? A secret is a secret, and I don’t reveal my secrets."Lauren FleishmanGino and Angie Terranova
Staten Island. New York
Married on September 27, 1947.
Angie, "You really don’t think about getting older. First of all, you’re aging together, and when you
see a person constantly,you don’t notice big changes. Like you don’t notice, oh you’re getting a
little wrinkle here and tomorrow you say it’s a little deeper. No, those are things that just happen."Lauren Fleishman
