Edna Parker Credits Education with Living 115 Years

The oldest living person in the world died Wednesday in Shelbyville, Indiana at 115 years, 220 days. The AP reported that,

"Although she never drank alcohol or tried tobacco and led an active life, [Edna] Parker didn't offer tips for living a long life. Her only advice to those who gathered to celebrate when she became the oldest person was "more education."

"We don't know why she's lived so long," Don Parker said before his grandmother's 115th birthday. "But she's never been a worrier and she's always been a thin person, so maybe that has something to do with it."

Parker graduated from Franklin College in 1911. According to Barbara Miller Solomon in her book, In the Company of Educated Women, women were still fighting to be admitted to colleges at that time, and were often shunned when they returned home. She says scientific studies claimed that women were inferior to men, could never catch up to them, and that "some doctors declared it was harmful for them to even try."

Can you imagine? We've come a long way, baby.

I raise my glass to Edna Parker, grand dame, the ultimate poster girl for lifelong learning, who paved the way for generations of women. Thank you, Edna.