California's Oldest Person, A Longtime Berkeley Resident, Dies At 114

BERKELEY, CA — Mila Mangold, a Berkeley woman born during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, has died. She was 114.

Mangold died July 2, according to the Sunset View Cemetery Association.

Born Nov. 14, 1907, in Nebraska, Mangold was listed as the seventh-oldest person in the world by the Gerontology Research Group.

“We send our sincerest condolences and best wishes to Mila’s family,” Guinness World Records spokesperson Kylie Galloway told the Los Angeles Times.

Mangold was living at a senior care home in El Cerrito, KTVU reported. Meinu Wu, the facility's owner, described her as well-liked and a "very nice woman."

"She's very positive, and she has a strong will to live long. She knows what's happening around her, and she still can read," Wu told the TV station in December.

Her son, Donald Mangold, said his mother was proud to be an American.

“She saw so much of the history of this country,” Donald Mangold told Bay Area News Group.

Mila Mangold saw two world wars, lived through two global pandemics, and was born the year Oklahoma became a state. She was 4 years old when the Titanic sank.

“She was very much aware the country had passed through a lot,” Donald Mangold told Bay Area News Group. “She was very happy that the country held together even through the tumultuous times.”

Mangold’s family moved to Los Angeles during the Great Depression. There, she met Walter Mangold, who she met while working as a secretary at a health department, according to Berkeleyside. The two later married and would move to Berkeley in the 1940s.

Walter, a professor at UC Berkeley, died in 1978, 44 years ago.

Mila Mangold remained active in the community after his death, becoming known for using oranges from her tree to make marmalade for her neighbors, according to the LA Times.

Mangold is survived by her son, Donald, and his three children.

Edie Ceccarelli, 114, of Willits, is now the oldest person in California. She was born Feb. 5, 1908, according to Gerontology Research Group.