Oldest Woman in the World, Dina Manfredini, Dies

Dina Manfredini, the oldest woman in the world, has died.

Manfredini became the oldest known person on the planet a couple of weeks ago. The Dec. 4 death of Besse Cooper was reported by Monroe, GA Patch. 

Manfredini, 115, lived at Bishop Drumm Care Center in Johnston, Iowa. Johnston Patch reported that Manfredini died early Monday morning.

Jiroemon Kimura of Japan is now the oldest known person in the world. He is 115 years and 239 days old.

Manfredini, who was born on April 4, 1897, in Italy, was healthy and strong in August 2011, according to an article by the Diocese of Des Moines. 

She lived through World War I in Europe, before moving to the United States in 1920. She went to work in the 1940s at a plant in Ankney to support her family in the Great Depression and World War II.

In 2011 she could still move around her retirement community with the help of a walker.

A Facebook page for Manfredini said she is also the oldest living Italian person in the world.

In the 2010 Census there were 53,365 centenarians, people 100 and older, living in the United States.