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World's oldest man dies in New York State
Fred Hale Sr, an American documented as the world's oldest man, has died in New York State. He was 113 years old and had lived up to name. At age 95 Hale even gave boogie-boarding a try, while flying home from Japan where he had visited a grandson who was in the Navy. At 103, Hale was still living on his own and shovelling the snow off his rooftop. Hale died in his sleep at The Nottingham in suburban Syracuse, while trying to recover from a bout of pneumonia, said his grandson, Fred Hale III. He was 12 days shy of his 114th birthday.Born on December 1, 1890, Hale last month watched his lifelong favourite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox, win the World Series again after 86 years. Hale retired 50 years ago as a railroad postal worker and beekeeper, his grandson said. He enjoyed gardening, canning fruits and vegetables and making homemade applesauce. He had a routine and he rarely broke it because anyone else was around," Hale III told The Post-Standard of Syracuse. "He didn't need a lot to be happy." Born in New Sharon, Maine, when there were only 43 stars on the American flag, Hale married Flora Mooers in 1910. Hale lived in his native Maine until he was 109, when he moved to the Syracuse area to be near his son, Fred Jr, now 82. On March 5, 2004, the Guinness World Records acknowledged him as the oldest living man when Joan Riudavets Moll, of Spain, died at age 114. Hale was also a Guinness record-holder for the oldest driver. At 108, he had still found slow drivers annoying, Fred Hale III said. Hale outlived his wife, who died in 1979, and three of his five children. He had nine grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and 11 great-great-grandchildren. Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-11-20 |
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