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{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}{{Short description|American supercentenarian (1899–2015)}}

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)| death_place = Inkster, Michigan, U.S.Oldest People>Oldest living person (April 6, 2015 - June 17, 2015) WORK=USA TODAY LAST=ANDERSONWORK=FAMILY SEARCH, | children = 1| parents = }}Jeralean Talley (née Kurtz; May 23, 1899 – June 17, 2015) was an American supercentenarian who was, aged 116 years, 25 days, the world's verified oldest living person. She was previously thought to be the oldest living American, from the death of Elsie Thompson on March 21, 2013, until Gertrude Weaver was verified to be older in July 2014.NEWS, At 116, Arkansas woman named oldest American,weblink August 28, 2014, MSN, July 4, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140707083957weblink">weblink July 7, 2014, dead, Upon Weaver's death on April 6, 2015,NEWS, Chaffin, Sarah, World's oldest person, Arkansan Gertrude Weaver, dies,weblink April 6, 2015, KATV, April 6, 2015, Talley was recognised as the oldest living person in the world. Talley received letters from U.S. President Barack Obama on her 114th and 116th birthdays acknowledging her status.

Biography

Talley was born on May 23, 1899 in Georgia. One of 12 children,NEWS, Jeralean Talley, World's Oldest Person, Celebrates Her 116th Birthday,weblink May 24, 2015, NBC News, May 23, 2015, she spent her early years living on a farm picking cotton and peanuts and harvesting sweet potatoes. She moved to Inkster, Michigan in 1935, and lived there until she died. In 1936, she married Alfred Talley (January 30, 1893 – October 17, 1988). Jeralean and Alfred were married for 52 years until his death.NEWS, Oldest American, Jeralean Talley, Turns 114 Years Old,weblink TIME.com, May 23, 2013, May 25, 2013, They had one child, a daughter, born in 1937. Talley had three grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren.NEWS,weblink Happy 114th Birthday to Jeralean Talley, The Oldest Living American!, TIME.com, May 28, 2013, May 27, 2013, NEWS,weblink Jeralean Talley of Inkster, Mich., was born May 23, 1899, USA Today, April 3, 2013, May 28, 2013, Elisha, Anderson,

Health and lifestyle

According to her daughter Thelma, Jeralean stayed active in her later life by sewing dresses, making quilts and playing slot machines at casinos. She bowled until she was 104, when her legs got too weak, but still went on annual fishing trips with her friend Michael Kinloch and his son Tyler, who was also her godson.WEB,weblink Local centenarians honored at Charles H. Wright Museum's Summer Theater Festival, The Michigan Citizen, July 25, 2013, October 27, 2013, Talley was a member of the New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, whose members referred to her as "Mother Talley". In May 2013, they celebrated her 114th birthday by officially naming the church's driveway after her. Talley also received a personalized letter from U.S. President Barack Obama, who wrote that she was "part of an extraordinary generation".WEB,weblinkweblink" title="archive.today/20130615070039weblink">weblink dead, June 15, 2013, Michigan woman celebrates 114th birthday with friends, family, Lansing State Journal.com, May 26, 2013, May 28, 2013, {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130615070039weblink |date=June 15, 2013 }} On her 116th birthday, Talley received another letter from Obama who wrote that the "breadth of her experience and depth of her wisdom reflects the long path our nation has traveled since 1899".WEB,weblink Inkster's Jeralean Talley, world's oldest person, turns 116 Saturday, Detroit Free Press, May 22, 2015, May 23, 2015, She said she lived by the Golden Rule. She was known in the community for her wisdom and wit, and when people sought her advice she told them to use common sense, saying "I don't have much education but what little sense I got, I try to use it".WEB,weblink The oldest person in America turned 114 yesterday (PICTURED), Ynaija.com, May 25, 2013, May 28, 2013,

Death

On June 17, 2015, Talley died after a week of hospitalization. She had prayed not to suffer before death, and reportedly died peacefully during her sleep at her home in Inkster. Regarding her great age, she had been quoted as saying "There's nothing I can do about it."NEWS, Anderson, Elisha, Jeralean Talley, world's oldest person, dies at 116,weblink June 18, 2015, USA Today, June 18, 2015, Following her death, Susannah Mushatt Jones became the oldest person in the world.World’s oldest-known person Jeralean Talley dies at 116 Retrieved June 19, 2015.

See also

• List of the verified oldest people
• 100 oldest American people ever

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

External links

• {{Find a Grave}}