Worlds oldest living woman dies at 116

An 116-year-old Japanese woman who held the Guinness World Record for oldest living woman has died.Tomiko Itooka, who lived in a nursing home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, in central Japan, died from natural causes on Dec.29, according to Guinness World Records.

The supercentenarian became the oldest living woman in August, following the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas, an American citizen living in Spain.Itooka was born in 1908 in Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, and was a volleyball player in her all-girls high school.At 20, she got married and welcomed four children, two daughters and two sons.When she was 32, Japan entered World War II, and during that time, she managed her husband’s textile factory.After her husband died in 1979, Itooka, a devout Buddhist, moved to Nara Prefecture alone and began taking up hiking, and climbed the over 3,000-meter-high Mount Ontake twice, according to LongeviQuest.The spry senior lived in the nursing home for five years, and according to her caregivers, was able to communicate clearly.In May, when she celebrated her 116th birthday, she was visited by the mayor of Ashiya, who gifted her flowers, a cake and a card.On Sept.

16, Guinness World Records visited her for Respect for the Aged Day, a Japanese public holiday, to present her with an official certificate.When an official from the record book read the certificate aloud, Itooka held her hand and replied “Arigato gozaimasu,” which means “Thank you very much.” Itooka is survived by one son and one daughter, and five grandchildren.

Brazil’s Inah Canabarro Lucas, a 116-year-old nun, has become the world’s oldest living person, according to LongeviQuest. ...