Anne Langston Christopher

News Obituary Article

ROME: Anne Langston Christopher, oldest Georgian, dies at 112

By KAY POWELL

Georgia's oldest resident, Anne Langston Christopher of Rome, has died at 112.

Mrs. Christopher, who was older than the modern Olympic Games, would talk about the Wright brothers' first flight when she was 8 and how sad she was when the Titanic sank in 1912.

The oldest documented Georgian, she was the seventh-oldest person in the U.S. and the 11th oldest person in the world, said Georgia State University gerontology researcher Robert Young of Atlanta.

Mrs. Christopher was born in South Carolina on March 4, 1895, and died in Rome on Wednesday. A memorial service was Saturday in Pickens, S.C., according to Tommy Harris of Dillard Funeral Home in Pickens.

Upon Mrs. Christopher's death, Besse Cooper of Monroe became Georgia's oldest resident at 111, Mr. Young said. She was born Aug. 26, 1896.

When asked to explain her longevity, Mrs. Christopher admitted in a 2006 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, "I don't know. I wonder why. I haven't done anything special. . . . We don't know why I'm living so long, do we?"

She once attributed her good health and long life to eating and sleeping well.

"I never drank. I didn't smoke, either," she said.

Then, her granddaughter Harriett Brock of Rome refreshed her memory.

"Don't you remember when you come to my house, I give you a glass of wine?" her granddaughter asked.

"Well, I guess I did drink a bit," Mrs. Christopher said.

She once smoked, too, her granddaughter said.

Mrs. Christopher was reared on a tobacco farm, taught second grade, could easily wring a chicken's neck and pluck it clean for cooking and was a Clark Gable fan.

She moved to Rome in 2002 to be nearer to her family. Though her life at assisted living centers was good, she figured the afterlife will be even better, according to the AJC article.

"She once told me heaven is going to be a glorious place," her granddaughter said, "because there are so many people there she knew."

Mrs. Christopher was widowed in 1955 and outlived a son, a daughter and two grandsons.

Survivors include her daughter Marion Emmitt of San Antonio, four grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

© 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution