INKSTER, Mich. — A 115-year-old Detroit-area woman now listed as the world’s oldest living person still makes plans for a fishing trip each year and credits God for her longevity.
Jeralean Talley tops a list maintained by the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group, which tracks the world’s longest-living people. Gertrude Weaver, a 116-year-old Arkansas woman who held the distinction for a few days, died Monday.
Talley was born May 23, 1899. Asked for her key to longevity, she told the Detroit Free Press: “It’s coming from above. That’s the best advice I can give you. It’s not in my hands or your hands.”
Michael Kinloch, a longtime family friend, describes her “very sharp” mentally.
“We go to a trout pond in Dexter,” a community about 40 miles west of Detroit, Kinloch said.
“She really likes that.”
