Stories like this intrigue me.  Let me start by saying that my family has a history of decent longevity.  My father's parents lived to be 86 and 92.  My mother's parents lived to be 91 and 97.  Pretty sure that my lifestyle and eating habits will ensure that I *won't* live that long, but who knows.

Earlier this year, I wrote about the worlds oldest woman, Bessie Cooper.  She was 116.  Unfortunately, she passed away this week.

The, uh, newest oldest living person?  Dina Manfredini!  She's 115 years old. And based on what the Guinness World Records people reported, she's a pretty incredible woman.

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Dina was born on April 4th, 1897.  A native of Pievepelago, Italy, Dina moved to a tiny mining camp in Des Moines in 1920 with her late husband, Riccardo Manfredini.

Dina was primarily a mother and homemaker, but had taken a job later in life cleaning houses up until the age of 90.

Dina lived independently until she was 110 years old, when she then relocated to a nursing home based in Johnston, Iowa where she currently resides.

Her family prides her on being an avid gardener and credits her longevity to "hard work and everything in moderation." While Dina's hearing is poor, she is general in good health

and can walk with a walker.

She has two other interesting age-related "records" as well... she's the only Italian person

to have reached 115and she's a week away from tying as the "oldest immigrant" to the United States.

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