BIOGRAPHY

Lorraine Coops was born in Pawnee City, Nebraska, USA on 18 January 1904, to parents Earl and Lulu Merrill. There was a history of longevity in her family: her mother passed away in 1983 at the age of 107. At a young age, she moved with her family from her native Nebraska to the state of California, where her father worked as a railroad station master. In 1927, she graduated from the Pasadena Hospital School of Nursing, from which point she began her career as a private nurse.

On 27 August 1939, at the age of 35, she married Morton Coops, a machinist for the Clayton Manufacturing Co. in El Monte. The couple would go on to have two children, and would remain together for 48 years before Morton’s death in 1987.

At the age of 90, she moved to Atherton, and would remain living on her own until a fall at the age of 104 forced her  to move into a nursing home. Her longevity was attributed to her mother’s genes, her health-conscious lifestyle informed by her years of working as a nurse, as well as her sense of humor.

Lorraine Coops passed away in Alhambra, California, USA on 19 November 2014 at the age of 110 years, 305 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by Stefan Maglov and Jimmy Lindberg, and validated by LongeviQuest.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Alhambra woman celebrates 110th birthday” – San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 25 January 2014

* Mountain View Mortuary & Cemetery

GALLERY