| Christina Cock | |
 | |
| Birth: | 25 December 1887 Gorae, Victoria, Australia |
| Death: | 22 May 2002 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Age: | 114 years, 148 days |
| Country: |  AUS
|
| Validated | |
Christina Cock (née Clay; 25 December 1887 – 22 May 2002)[1] is recorded as the oldest verified supercentenarian in Australian history, aged 114 years, 148 days when she died. At the time of her death, she was one of the 100 oldest verified people of all time.[2]
Biography
Christina Clay was born in Gorae, just outside Portland, Victoria being the second of 11 children. She married Wilbert Cock in 1913. The couple remained married for almost 73 years, until Wilbert's death at the age of 96 in 1986.[3]
Following the death of 109-year-old Mary MacPherson on 11 December 1996, she became the oldest living Australian, aged 108.[4]
Cock lived independently until she was 109 years old, when she broke her hip during a fall.[3]
Later, on 21 November 2000, Cock broke the Australian longevity record of 112 years 330 days, which was set by Caroline Mockridge (11 December 1874 – 6 November 1987).[4]
On 25 December 2000 and 2001, Christina Cock became the first (and so far only) australian to reach 113 and 114 years, respectively.
At the time of Cock's death, she was the second-oldest person in the world. She narrowly missed becoming the world's oldest person by just six days as Grace Clawson of the United States, born 15 November 1887 in the UK, died 28 May 2002, aged 114 years 194 days, six days after Cock.
Her daughter, Lesley Ricketson (13 February 1917 – 31 August 2020) died at the age of 103 years, 200 days.[5]
Death
On 22 May 2002, aged 114 years, 148 days, Cock died in her sleep, due to a lung infection, with her daughter Lesley Ricketson by her side, at Blackburn's Lake Park nursing home. Lake Park nursing home manager Megg Begg said that Cock was still leading a full life up until the day she died. "She still had an interest in her music and food, particularly chocolate cake, and all her family; she was very much a family orientated person. Ricketson said "[s]he was very healthy, she never got sick, she used to eat well and never had anything wrong with her." Cock was survived by two children, five grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandson.
Gallery
References
- ↑ Face the facts: Older Australians | Australian Human Rights Commission www.humanrights.gov.au
- ↑ Verified Supercentenarians (Listed Chronologically By Birth Date)Gerontology Research Group
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 God finally remembers Christina The Age. 24 May 2002
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Photo Gallery for Supercentenarians born in the year 1887 Gerontology Research Group
- ↑ Ruth “Lesley” Ricketson Obituary Echovita
| Australia's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (V • T • E) |
|
Helen Dunbar • Jessie Pearce • Clara Byrne • Ada Sharp • Honora Corrigan • Mary Keefer • Josephine Gasse • Elizabeth Swatton • Samuel Rowe • Sarah Potter • Jane Piercy • Mary Nixon • Caroline Mockridge • Agnes Dodds • Mary Hurley • Ada Whitfield • Beatrice Pollock • Gertie Nesbitt • Kit St. Clair • Ada Cleggett • Ada Stockdale • Mary MacPherson • Christina Cock • Jessie Hurley • Alice Lindsay • Sarah Davey • Myra Nicholson • E. Beatrice Riley • John Campbell Ross • Miriam Schmierer • Eva McConnell • Jane Gray • Vi Robbins • Ethel Farrell • Mary Whitehurst • Marjorie Cooke • Margaret Vivian • Wilhelmina Overall • Agnes Kluckhenn • Mabel Crosby • Dexter Kruger • Ivy Tate • Ina Reid • Gwen Moore • Catherina van der Linden • Marija Ruljancich |