World's oldest person dies at 116 WASHINGTON: The oldest person in the world has died at age 116, accord- ing to the US-based Gerontology Research Group. Jeralean Talley, born May 23, 1899, in Georgia, died peace- fully in her home in a Detroit suburb said her daughter, Thelma Holloway. "She was ready to go home and rest, Holloway, 77, told the Detroit Free Press. "When she left here, she didn't suffer. She asked the Lord to take her peacefully and he did. Now she's at peace." Talley's death makes Susannah Mushatt Jones, who lives in New York state, the new oldest person in the world at 115 years and 347 days old. She is one of only two known living people born in the 19th century.dpa