Delpha Johnson, 110, dies

By her last decade, every birthday became a front-page news story.

That’s because Delpha Johnson turned 110 years old on May 21 — an occasion celebrated with a polite taste of birthday cake and a serenade by Sedalia celebrity/Elvis impersonator Don Darnell.

Johnson, believed to be one of the oldest living people — if not the oldest  — in Missouri has died.

At her 110th birthday party at the Four Seasons Living Center, the supercentenarian jokingly attributed her longevity to young men and chocolate. She also cited her career as a beautician, including a stint as a shop owner in the Bothwell Hotel, and her practice of the Christian Science religion.

Friends of Johnson said she recalled her life on a farm and told them that she loved to dance. She has enjoyed Pettis County and everyone in it.

“Sedalia’s really my home,” Johnson said at her 109th birthday party. “I got friends; I had a good life down here. It was my hometown for a long time.”

She was born May 21, 1898, in Maysville, the youngest of 14 children. She grew up in Sedalia and has also lived in Warsaw and Warrensburg.

She was married to John Johnson in 1938, who died in 1958. She outlived nearly all of her relatives.

The Gerontology Research Group is keeping tabs on 75 supercentenarians worldwide on its Web site, www.grg.org. The group defines a supercentenarian as anyone who has lived to be 110 years or older. Sixty-five of the people listed on the Web site are women and 10 are men. The oldest person is 115.

Johnson was the only person from Missouri listed.

Darnell performed at Johnson’s last birthday party for more than 100 people. “This lady is a living testament to history,” Darnell said at the time.

“She was a very, very alert, educated person,” Pat Perriguey, in medical records, said. “Prissy, but not the kind of person that would hold it over your head. She’s just very particular.”

Johnson moved to a Four Seasons independent living apartment in 1998. As her health declined, she received more constant care. She spent her latter days playing go-fish and getting manicures and resting.

“I didn’t know I was going to live so long,” Johnson said.

Sweeney-Phillips & Holdren Funeral Home in Warrensburg is in charge of arrangements.