Athens woman is 76th oldest living person

ATHENS, Ga. --- A research organization that tracks "supercentenarians" lists an Athens woman as the 76th oldest human on the planet.

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Morris News Service

Dr. Leila Denmark, who turned 110 in February, listens to her grandniece Jackie Bennett before going to lunch.

Leila Denmark, a pediatrician who practiced medicine until she was 103, turned 110 on Feb. 1. The Gerontology Research Group, a Los Angeles nonprofit association of scholars who study aging, lists Ms. Denmark as the 76th oldest living person after one of the other oldest Americans, 114-year-old Texan Arbella Ewings, died Saturday.

Two Georgia residents are older than Ms. Denmark -- 112-year-old Beatrice Farve of Brunswick and 111-year-old Besse Cooper of Monroe. Ms. Cooper is the 34th oldest American, according to the group's Web site, www.grg.org.

The research lists Edna Parker of Indiana, who will turn 115 on April 20, as the oldest person in the world whose age can be validated.