| Bettie Bookout | |
| Birth: | 27 July 1870 Liberty County, Texas, USA |
| Death: | 17 February 1981 Texas, USA |
| Age: | 110 years, 205 days |
| Country: |  USA
|
| Validated | |
Bettie Lavenia Bookout (née Ridley; 27 July 1870 – 17 February 1981) was a validated American supercentenarian. She was born as Bettie Lavenia Ridley in Liberty County, Texas, and described her childhood as a pleasurable one. Sometimes, they would ride the Houston steam locomotive, or watch them pass by their house. Bookout had four sisters and two brothers. Her parents were Young Lafette and Amanda Day Ridley. Native Americans would sometimes ask her parents for something to eat and drink. Young Lafette, who had a law degree, was a Civil War veteran who got shot three times during the war. Afterwards, he became a farmer and later a businessman. He died in December 1885 when Bookout was still a teenager.
Bettie Ridley became Bettie Bookout when she married Robert L. Bookout on 23 December 1894, in Peoria. They worked in farming until 1912, when he was appointed Hill County District Clerk and City Tax Assessor-Collector. The couple had a daughter Lon (married Smith). Bookout became a widow in 1931.
On the occasion of her 108th birthday, she said that she didn't have any secrets for longevity: ”I just try to stay as happy as I can”. However, it was revealed that she eats a lot of protein.
Bettie Bookout died on 17 February 1981 in Hillsboro, Hill, Texas, United States at the age of 110 years, 205 days.
References
- Waco Tribune-Herald, 7 August 1978
- Bettie L Ridley (1870 - 1981) FamilySearch
- Bettie Lavenia Ridley Bookout Ancestry