Visiting Tomiko Itooka: The World’s Oldest Person at 116
Van Dyke was born as Lelia M. Vaughan on 6 February 1862 in the U. S. state of Virginia. She was the second daughter of Albert and Susannah Vaughan. She married Martin L. Van Dyke on 8 February 1883 and had two daughters, Josie and Beatrice.
Van Dyke died in Jamaica, New York, on 10 January 1973 at the age of 110 years, 339 days.
Van Dyke was the oldest living person in New York, and also the longevity recordholder of Virginia by birth after surpassing the age of Sarah Rockwell (1843 – 1953) in 1972.
Van Dyke’s age was verified by Okiku S. and Jimmy Lindberg, and validated by LongeviQuest on 11 October 2023.