Happy Birthday! Oldest American turns 114
Lifelong New Jerseyan Adele Dunlap, who assumed the title of oldest American five months ago, marked her 114th birthday Monday with a balloon bouquet and a “Happy Birthday” serenade from fellow residents of the Hunterdon County care center where she has lived since age 99.
But Dunlap made clear through her facial expressions and her answers to questions that she didn’t appreciate the fuss. Asked what she was thankful for, Dunlap said, “Gee, how should I know?” And asked what her birthday wish was, she responded, “I’ve never thought of such a thing. I don’t wish for anything.”
She also declared that it was her 105th birthday. It’s her habit to shave about a decade off her age, according to nursing home staff and her family.
Dunlap was born in Newark on Dec. 12, 1902. Her birth date has been validated by the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks “supercentenarians,” or people older than 110. Among the documents attesting to her astonishing age is her diploma from South Side High School in Newark. It is dated June 27, 1921 — 951⁄ years ago.
There are believed to be several hundred supercentenarians in the world. In addition to being the oldest American, Dunlap is the world’s nintholdest person. The oldest, according to the Gerontology Research Group database, is an Italian woman, Emma Morano-Martinuzzi, who marked her 117th birthday on Nov. 29. The next-oldest American is Meta Dishman of Virginia. She turned 113 on June 1. Of the world’s 46 oldest people in the Gerontology Research Group’s database, 44 are women.
Dunlap moved up to oldest American when Goldie Michelson of Worcester, Mass., died on July 8, one month shy of her 114th birthday. She said at the time that being the oldest American didn’t make her feel any different.
The former Adele Henderson taught school briefly in Kearny and raised her three children in Short Hills. Her husband, Earl Dunlap Sr., who worked in insurance, died in 1963. Before moving to Country Arch, she lived in Clinton with her son Earl Jr., now 86, and daughter-in-law Barbara.