Guinness World Record oldest woman 116 Past Away

Besse Cooper, right, receives a kiss from her grandson Paul Cooper, 42, during a ceremony in which Guinness World Records recognized her as the world’s oldest living person in 2011.(Photo: John Amis, AP)

11:25PM EST December 4. 2012 – MONROE, Georgia (AP) — The woman who was listed as the world’s oldest person died Tuesday in a Georgia nursing home at age 116.

Besse Cooper died peacefully Tuesday afternoon in Monroe, according to her son Sidney Cooper. Monroe is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Atlanta.

Cooper said his mother had been ill recently with a stomach virus, then felt better on Monday. On Tuesday he said she had her hair set and watched a Christmas video, but later had trouble breathing. She was put on oxygen in her room and died there about 2 p.m., Cooper said.