Besse Cooper, the world’s oldest woman, died yesterday at 116. She was one of only eight people recognized by the Guinness World Records to have lived that long. When asked for her secret to a long life, Cooper said earlier this year: "I mind my own business. And I don’t eat junk food." Besse was born in Sullivan County, Tennessee, on August 26, 1896. When she graduated school she got a job earning $35 a month. The oldest person to have ever lived, according to Guinness, was Jeanne Louise Calmet. She died in Southern France in 1997 at the age of 122. Cooper is survived by four children, 11 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.