Susannah Jones, world’s oldest person, dies in New York at 116

Ms. Jones, who was affectionately known by family and neighbors as Miss Susie, died Thursday night at a public housing center for seniors in Brooklyn where she had lived for more than three decades, according to Robert Young, a senior consultant for the Gerontology Research Group.

When she graduated from high school in 1922, Ms. Jones worked full time helping family members pick crops.

Judge said at the time that she believed it helped that her aunt grew up on a rural farm, where she ate fresh fruits and vegetables that she picked herself.

After she moved to New York, Ms. Jones worked with a group of her fellow high school graduates to start a scholarship fund for young African American women to go to college.