Violet Brown: World's Oldest Person Dies At 117 - BlackDoctor.org

One hundred and seventeen year old Violet Brown, known to many as "Aunt V," died Friday at a local hospital, where she had been treated for heart arrhythmia and dehydration.

With her death, the Gerontology Research Group lists Nabi Tajima of Japan was the oldest surviving person. She was born on Aug. 4, 1900.

Brown was born Violet Moss — or Mosse: Both spellings were sometimes used — on March 10, 1900, and spent much of her life cutting sugar cane near her home in the Duanvale district in western Jamaica.

Her husband Augustus Brown died in 1997 and the eldest of her six children died in April at age 97.

Baptized at age 13, Brown proudly recalled decades of “staunch contribution” to her church, showing off a plaque she received at age 107 from the Trelawny Baptist Association. Her church was the Trittonvale Baptist Church where remained a member all her life, long serving as organist.

When it came to her diet, the Jamaica-born 117-year-old said she loved locally grown fruits and vegetables, didn't each pork or chicken, and abstained from what she called “rum and dem tings.”

In an interview this year with The Associated Press, Brown said she was surprised but grateful to have lived so long and one of her secrets, besides her diet, comes straight from the bible.