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Katherine C. Pearson, Editor, and a Member of the Law Professor Blogs Network on LexBlog.com

This isn’t elder law either…

July 1, 2005

From Reuters:

A Dutch woman who swears by a daily helping of herring for a healthy life celebrated her 115th birthday Wednesday as the oldest living person on record.

Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, a former needlework teacher, was born in 1890, the year Sioux Indians were massacred by the U.S. military at the Battle of Wounded Knee.

The passionate soccer fan celebrated her birthday in a nursing home in the northern Dutch town of Hoogeveen.

“She eats a piece of herring every day because it’s good for the health,” said Johan Beijering, director of the Westerkim nursing home. “She is still mentally full of vitality.”

The daughter of a headmaster, Van Andel-Schipper was born in the town of Smilde in the northern Netherlands on June 29, 1890.

Also known as Hennie, she married a tax inspector in the 1930s and was forced to sell her jewelry to buy food during the German occupation in World War II.Oldest

“A scan of our archive reveals that Hennie is also older than the Guinness World Records holder for the oldest man living, which makes her the oldest person in the world,” said Guinness World Records book editor Craig Glenday.

I bet she didn’t ever have any Botox.  And I’m running down to Ingebretson’s for some pickled herring.