A woman from the Springfield area is believed to be the oldest living resident of Illinois.
Wenonah Bish, who currently lives in Sherman, will turn 112 on October 2.
The State Journal-Register had the chance to celebrate with Bish last year when she blew out the candles as likely the second oldest person in the state at the time. The former oldest person lived in Maywood.
Bish’s family describes her as someone who prefers to look ahead to what’s ahead rather than behind. She enjoys calling and talking to her daughter Delores throughout the day, in addition to talking to her grandson Dirk, who lives in Miami, and her grandson Don, who lives in the Dominican Republic.
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Last year, Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray confirmed that Bish was the oldest living voter in the county, and the family provided a copy of his birth certificate (for history buffs, Dwight H. Green was governor at the time, who is listed at the top of the document).
It is possible that others in the state are older but have not contacted the organizations that maintain the data.
According to the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks the ages of supercentenarians (people who live to be 110 or older), Bish is estimated to be the 12th-oldest person in the U.S. and the 55th-oldest person in the world.
Top 10 Oldest People in the US
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Elizabeth Francis (115 years old)
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Naomi Whitehead (113 years old)
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Herlda Senhouse (113 years old)
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Mary Harris (113 years old)
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Bonita Gibson (113 years old)
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Winnie Felps (112 years old)
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Rose Girone (112 years old)
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Ruth Stryzewski (112 years old)
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Ilse Meingast (112 years old)
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Ruby Lockhart (112 years old)
Tom Ackerman is a breaking news and trending reporter at the Springfield State-Journal Register. He can be reached at tackerman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared in the State Journal-Register: 112-year-old Springfield woman likely oldest resident in Illinois
