NORTH LIMA Woman becomes world's oldest

A 114-year-old woman who had been the world's oldest person died today.
STAFF/WIRE REPORT
NORTH LIMA -- It appears that Charlotte Benkner has become the world's oldest person, according to a research group.
Benkner will turn 114 Sunday.
Benkner was awake this morning and eating breakfast at the Glenellen Senior Suites and Villas -- Lakeside, where she lives.
"She's doing great," said Minnie Colon, the residential coordinator at Glenellen.
Benkner's younger sister, Tillie O'Hare, also lives at Glenellen.
A 114-year-old Japanese woman who had assumed the title of the world's oldest person just weeks ago died today, said a city spokesman in Hiroshima, Japan.
Mitoyo Kawate, born May 15, 1889, died of pneumonia, the spokesman said. London-based Guinness World Records recognized Kawate as the oldest person alive Oct. 31 after the previous record-holder, Kamato Hongo from southern Japan, died recently.
Last month, Benkner became the oldest person in the U.S. and the world's third-oldest, according to the Gerontology Research Group.
Her history
Benkner was born in Germany in 1889 and moved to New York with her family as a child. Her father was a chef in a New York restaurant. She and her husband moved to Youngstown, where he had a job at United Engineering Co.
She was one of 11 children and has hinted that the secret to her longevity is in her genes. Her father lived to be 95.
She also said her eating habits, which include rarely eating sugar or candy, also played a role in her longevity.
Benkner, who had no children, was honored last year for her work with Camp Fire girls.
Japanese title-holders
Japan has lost three world record-holders for longevity in recent months. Hongo's death was preceded by the death of the world's oldest man, 114-year-old Yukichi Chuganji, on Sept. 29.
Kameni Nakamura, a 109-year-old man in Okinawa prefecture, is Japan's oldest man.
Japan leads the world in longevity in part because of the traditional Japanese diet, experts say, which is low in fatty foods.
The country's life expectancy -- 85.23 years for women and 78.32 for men in 2002 -- is the longest in the world.
According to the London-based records organization, the world's oldest person with an authenticated birth record was Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at age 122.