Delina Filkins

Delina Filkins (May 4, 1815 – December 4, 1928) was an American verified supercentenarian. She was born as Delina Ecker in a farmhouse in Stark, Herkimer County, New York. Her father was William Ecker. Both parents were of Dutch ancestry. In 1826, she quit school to work at home. In 1834, she married John Filkins. The couple had six children in total. The ran a cheese making business. John died in 1890.

On her 101st birthday, her eyesight and hearing were good. When she was 107 years old, she underwent an operation. On her 111th birthday, it was revealed that Filkins wakes up every morning around 5:30 am, makes her own bed, other household chores and reads books. It was also mentioned that she used glasses to read,and that her hearing was worse than before. She claimed she didn’t have any secrets to her longevity.

Towards the very end of her life, her health declined and she initally refused to become bedridden. She eventually was convinced to lie down. Filkins died on December 4, 1928, at the age of 113 years, 214 days. She was the oldest living person in the world at the time of her death. Longevity was prevalent in her family, with her father living to be 97 and her mother was 78 years old.