This is the thread where I say "Happy Birthday" to...

Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday!!!!!

has grandma been through a metal dectector lately? my brother gets bleeps every time he does and they finally worked out it was from all the milk hes drunk over the years doing something to his bones that sets the detector off. last time he went through US airport security they called him 'milk boy'.

(Financial situation much improved the last few months, btw)

Thank you all! For maximum comedy laffs, imagine me telling her at lunch today that a bunch of people I know from the internet wished her a happy birthday.

By one account she is 111 years old: an uncle gave her birth year as 1895 in the 1900 census, but everybody's pretty sure he just misspoke. All other accounts have her born on 23 July 1896. She doesn't have a birth certificate, so the best document on hand is her marriage license.

you know, i feel all old turning 30 later this year but your grandmother was 30 in 1926. and she's lived through everything that's happened since 1926. that makes me feel very young.

sucks to be a jai alai playing cruise ship director with a passion for flying experimental aircraft. my main passions are ice cream, old records, and staring at party pictures in old town & country magazines. i'm good to go! as long as my motor skills, hearing, and eyesight hold out.

Eleventy-one today!

That's AMAZING! Happy birthday to her!!!

So rock. :-) Tell her a bunch of strangers you know think she has a very polite and cool grandson who learned it from her. (Surely.)

wau

Happy birthday x 111!!!!

Rock Hardy, is this the grandmother of yours who swears a lot, or am I thinking of someone else? In any case, happy birthday to her.

gah! my most hated number = 111 but, still, WOW.

!!!

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday!! x

DV, you may be thinking of my Aunt Katie, who went to Alaska in the summer and came back and said "they got mosquitoes up there big enough to fuck a turkey." I think I've mentioned her in the secret club newsletter.

Thank you all! They're having cake and ice cream for her today at the nursing home, and I'm so buried in work I may not be able to go. All three of her children are still alive -- my mother is her youngest, and will turn 75 in two months.

WOW!

According to this she is the 61st oldest person in the entire world!
http://www.grg.org/Adams/E.HTM

Happy birthday!!!

Yep, after I contacted them, the GRG people did the legwork in confirming her age so we didn't have to. I looked at the site a couple of weeks ago and she was #62 -- no surprises at all when names drop off the list...

It's weird, she's been really old all my life, and I'm into freakin' middle age! It's going to be very weird when she passes.

Best birthday wishes to your grandma, Rock! Getting to 111 and *still* enjoying cake and ice cream - surely an example to us all.

rock hardy's grandmother's birthday >>>>>>>>> ghost rider's birthday

i want to post on her facebook wall

That is amazing. 1896! She'd remember a time before email even...
Congratulations to her!

Oh my LORD! Hats off you your Gram!
Rock Hardy, you 43-year-old, you are a green twig on your family tree.

Remember how we used to think that there were all these super-centenarians living in Soviet Georgia? It turned out to be a scam perpetuated by Stalin. He had people use their grandparents' birth certificates. Why? To bolster the nonexistent Soviet tourism industry? COME SEE ALL THE REALLY OLD PEOPLE DRINKING VODKA BEFORE BREAKFAST!!!!!

Congrats on your granma's continuing rude health and awesomeness Rock :D I am always pleased when you update us on her, she sounds fab :)

World's Oldest Person Dies

Hey Rock Hardy, your grandma just moved up a notch!

Dammit Beth, don't make me lol at people's deaths! It's bad karma!

She's up to #58 on the big board, so there must've been several deaths in the last three weeks. She had a checkup a couple of weeks ago and the doctor said her heart's fine, respiration's fine, circulation and BP are fine...she could go to sleep tonight and not wake up, or she could live for years.

The GRG is taking a more active interest in her. They asked my mother to help them conduct a phone interview with her -- the answer to just about every question was "well, I don't remember."

She's sneaking out at night to kill the competition.

GRANNY ASSASSIN

"Some skills they don't teach at the home."

Rue McClanahan will have to play her in the movie version; Estelle Getty couldn't nail the accent.

To be fair to Stalin (ahem) age overstatement was common in Russia way before he took over. It's all to do with getting the perks of being the elder of the village.

Probably not just Russia either. Wasn't there some Japanese island where they claimed to have a disproportionate number of centenarians?

a belated happy birthday to rock hardy's grandmother!!

I was afraid to scroll down! But no, all is well. Wow.

Top 50!

Wow, August and Sept. have been tough on ol' Table E.

Uh, it's very weird that Onimo revived this today. Later this morning, a little while after I posted, my mom called to tell me that my grandmother has been hospitalized with a slightly irregular heartbeat. She's resting comfortably and cheerfully, but, y'know, y'know?

Best wishes to her.

Seconded, all the best

Sorry to be a jinx RH :(

Yes, best wishes to her.

Nooo! You didn't jinx anything! It's cool that there are internet pals out there who have my granny in their thoughts even when it's not her birthday.

happy birthday to me! It's my 31st b/day today (it's already the 28th here)

props to your gran too of course

You guys, after 4,000,000,000+ beats her heart just gave out. She died peacefully in her sleep this morning, age 111 years and 85 days.

Oh no, I'm really sorry to hear this.

That's amazing. I don't whether that calls for condolences or applause.

OTM, that.

Very sorry to hear the news, R. H. Good to know it was peaceful -- my grandma passed the same way, and I was always thankful for that.

I'm sorry to hear this, too. I don't visit ilx often, but the last time I did I read about your amazing gran. Take care.

I'm so sorry to hear about her passing. She must have been amazing. 111 years old!

I was reading the wikipedia recent deaths page (as I do, I'm a sicko, I know) and I recognised her name. Condolences, and RIP to the former oldest Mississippian.

My condolences, Rock.

Thanks, everybody. As you might imagine, it was the most cheerful funeral I've ever been to.

did she ever tell you stories about growing up?

Not too many, sorry to say. She was already stone deaf by the time I reached my 20s and was interested in old-folks stories; it was a chore to scream an extended conversation with her.

Aw man so sorry RH :(

4 billion heartbeats though! It's kind of amazing to think on the changes she lived through.

RIP Delphia Spencer Hankins, you earned it.

My mom's older brother (now 95) is in town for a couple of days and I met up for dinner with him, his (retired) daughters, my parents and a few of their friends. Good to see Uncle Toby again, though his memory is going. Anyway, it made me think of this thread.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/25/salustiano-sanchez-blazquez-worlds-oldest-man_n_3651467.html

The passing of an era -- the world's oldest man is now someone who was born in the 20th century, not the 19th. (There are still eight 19th-C women at the top of the list though.)

My grandmother's eldest, my mother's brother, turned 100 today. Not doing well in mind or body, but he hit triple digits for what that's worth. That old Hankins longevity gene.

Wait ,how old was gramma when she had him, then?

Nineteen, a proper age for marryin' and childbearin' in Mississippi in 1915.

My grandmother's eldest, my mother's brother, turned 100 today. Not doing well in mind or body, but he hit triple digits for what that's worth. That old Hankins longevity gene.

― Phlegm Snopes (WilliamC), Tuesday, December 8, 2015 9:21 PM (one year ago)

Uncle Toby made it to 101 and a bit, but passed on a couple of days ago.