She became the oldest living person in the United States upon the death of Dina Manfredini on December 17, 2012, and became the oldest living person in the world on April 1, 2015 following the death of Japanese woman Misao Okawa. At the time of her death in April 2015, she was the seventh verified oldest person ever, and the third oldest person ever from the United States, after Sarah Knauss and Lucy Hannah.