The Des Moines , Iowa , woman named the world 's oldest living person this month has died , according to her family . Dina Manfredini died overnight at the retirement center where she lived after suffering a fever , her granddaughter Lori Logli said Monday . She was 115 and apparently died in her sleep , Logli said . Guinness World Records identified Manfredini as the world 's oldest person on December 5 , a day after the death of 116-year-old Besse Cooper of Georgia . Manfredini was born in Pievepelago , Italy , on April 4 , 1897 , and moved to Des Moines in 1920 with her husband , according to her Guinness biography . She was an avid gardener who , after staying home to raise children and keep house , took up a job at the age of 90 cleaning houses , according to Guinness . She lived on her own until she was 110 , when she moved to a nursing home , Guinness said . Guinness quoted Manfredini as saying that her long life was the result of her commitment to `` hard work and everything in moderation . ''
115-year - old Maria Manfredini died overnight . She is the world 's oldest woman this month . She apparently died in her sleep , her granddaughter says .