Besse Cooper of Monroe, the world’s oldest person, died Tuesday at age 116 in an area nursing home.

She had the greatest verified longevity of any Georgian in history.

Her son, Sidney Cooper, said she died peacefully, according to an Associated Press article.

Cooper said his mother had been ill recently with a stomach virus, but she felt better on Monday.

On Tuesday she had her hair set and watched a Christmas video, he said, but later had trouble breathing, the AP reported. She was put on oxygen in her room and died there about 2 p.m., Cooper said. “With her hair fixed it looked like she was ready to go,” he said, according to the article.

Besse Cooper had been remarkably healthy all her life, her son told Georgia Health News in August, just before her most recent birthday. She took few medications, Cooper said.

“She never had surgery in her life,’’ Cooper said. The first time she was in a hospital was when she gave birth.

Sidney Cooper said his family will likely hold a funeral for his mother later this week.

Here’s the GHN article from August on her birthday.

Cooper becomes the second famous Georgia centenarian to die this year. In April, legendary Georgia pediatrician Dr. Leila Denmark passed away in Athens at age 114.

Here’s a Georgia Health News story on Denmark and her remarkable career.