Gertrude Baines, a 114-year-old California nursing home resident, will soon be anointed the world’s oldest person. She succeeds Portuguese super-centenarian Maria de Jesus, who died late last week.
Baines was born April 6, 1894, near Atlanta to former slaves. She was employed at a state university in Ohio as a “house mom” before retiring and moving to Los Angeles, according to CNN. A resident of Western Convalescent Hospital, Baines credits her longevity to God: “I took good care of myself, the way He wanted me to,” she told CNN.
Maria de Jesus reigned as the world’s oldest person for just 37 days, making hers the fourth shortest tenure since Guinness World Records began keeping track in 1955. She was 115 years, 114 days old when she died last Friday.
