Supercentenarian Profile

Rosa Beckner

Born:

1903-11-11

Roanoke County, Virginia

United States

Died:

2015-02-07

Franklin County, Virginia

United States

Rosa May Beckner (née Jamison; formerly Bryant) was an American supercentenarian.

BIOGRAPHY

Rosa Beckner was born on a farm in northern Roanoke County, Virginia, USA, on 11 November 1903. Her parents were Christian Emory Jamison (1872–1967) and Martha Frances “Mattie” Showalter (1879–1906).

She was married twice. Her first husband was James Preston Bryant (1866–1941), with whom she had two sons: James Emory Bryant Sr. (1929–2006) and Norris Clay Bryant (1931–2008). In 1945, following her remarriage to Carl Henry Beckner (1900–1973), she moved with her two sons from Roanoke County to North Carolina. After working in a school lunchroom, she returned to Wirtz in 1978 to live with family.

Longevity ran in her family. Her father lived to the age of 95. Her older sister, Annie Catherine Montgomery (21 December 1898 – 26 March 2007), reached 108, while another sister, Bessie Fannie Bower (1906–2003), passed away in her 90s. Her younger paternal half-sister, Blanche Evelyn Mason (1913–2007), lived to the age of 94.

Rosa Beckner passed away in Franklin County, Virginia, on 7 February 2015, at the age of 111 years, 88 days.