Cora Hansen (née Clausen, 25 March 1899 – 18 April 2012) was an American-born Canadian
supercentenarian
A supercentenarian, sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian, is a person who is 110 or older. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of significant age-related diseases until short ...
of Norwegian descent who, at the age of 113 years, 24 days, was the oldest validated living person in Canada, a title she had held following the 2011 death of
Sum Ying Fung, who died at 112 years and 313 days old.
Biography
Hansen was born in
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
on March 25, 1899 to Elling Clausen Skjelbreid (born 1852) and Else Marie Jensdatter Grønnøy (born 1856), farmers who emigrated to the United States from Drangedal in
Telemark
Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. In 1912, Hansen and her family moved on to
Jenner,
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
.
She married Richard Hansen, and they both retired in
Elkwater in 1972. She moved into the Valleyview Care Centre in
Medicine Hat
Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...
, Alberta in her 90s. Hansen had one daughter (Eleanor), two grandchildren (Jim and Allyson), and one great-grandson (Brooks). She also had two nieces (Else Sharp, who was 99 at the time of Hansen's death, and Emma Clausen, who was 94 at the time of Hansen's death) and a nephew (Alfred Clausen, who was 97 at the time of Hansen's death).
In May 2010, Hansen became bedridden
and had serious vision and hearing problems, though she was active, alert and lucid from time to time.
When asked, Hansen "credited her longevity to good genes, regular walks and a lifestyle that avoided cigarettes and alcohol."
Hansen died in Elkwater on April 18, 2012 at the age of 113 years, 24 days.
After her death,
Merle Barwis
Merle E. Barwis (December 23, 1900 – November 22, 2014) was an American-Canadian supercentenarian who was at the time of her death, aged 113 years 334 days, the oldest living resident of Canada and one of oldest people ever in Canada. She becam ...
became the oldest Canadian living person.
See also
*
List of Canadian supercentenarians
This article lists Canadian supercentenarians (people from Canada who have attained the age of at least 110 years). The oldest verified Canadian person ever was Marie-Louise Meilleur, who died in 1998 aged 117 years, 230 days. As of , the oldest ...
*
List of supercentenarians from the United States
American supercentenarians are citizens or residents of the United States who have attained or surpassed 110 years of age. By January 2015, the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) had validated the longevity claims of 782 American supercentenarians. ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Cora
1899 births
2012 deaths
American emigrants to Canada
American people of Norwegian descent
Canadian supercentenarians
Canadian women centenarians
Canadian people of Norwegian descent
People from Minnesota