Welcome to the 10th in our series on centenarians. I’m going to start calling it ‘Living to 100 and Beyond’ because these are all super-centenarians, that is folks who lived to be at least 110.

Sara Knauss lived from 9/24/1880 to 12/30/1999, a total of 119 years, 97 days. She is #2 on the list of all-time longest-lived people and did once hold the title of the oldest living person, from 4/16/98 to 12/30/99. She is oldest person ever from the United States

She was born in Hollywood, PA and died in Allentown. Her husband was Abraham Lincoln Knauss, who, appropriately, was a republican politician.
Their only child lived to be 101. But when she died there were 6 generations spanning from Sarah, 119, to her 4-year-old great-great-great grandson. She also had a grandson, 3 great-granddaughters, 5 great-great grandchildren.

She worked as an insurance office manager and homemaker. Although her family was one of the first in her town to own a car, she never drove one. Although she was around at the time of the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight, she also never flew in an airplane.

According to one article she was a renowned story-teller. She apparently liked transportation, as she claimed to have seen the last horse-drawn trolley in Allentown, where she lived most of her life, having moved their upon her marriage, and the last electric trolley, and the last steam-driven locomotive in service in Allentown.

Her grandson and others said Sara was a very quiet woman. She enjoyed playing bridge with a group of Allentown women. During World War II, she did her part by rolling bandages for wounded soldiers. An accomplished seamstress, Sara used a foot-powered sewing machine until 1940 when her family gave her a powered one. She also did a lot of needlework, some of which still survives in the homes of her descendants. Was a church member in Allentown and attended bible study classes at her nursing home.
When she was told she was the oldest woman, she said “So what?”

Quality of Life:

In 1995 Sarah said she enjoyed life because she still had her health and could do things. She lived her last 9 years in a nursing home, along with her daughter, who was 96 at the time of Sara’s death. She died peacefully in her sleep, with no known illness. She was almost completely deaf when she died. She used a wheelchair. It was said that she “always had a smile on her face.” She sewed her last quilt in 1987, when she was 107, but was still hemming clothes for the family right up until her death. She went to the hairdresser every week, up until her death, and wore her hair in a French twist. She had a relatively youthful appearance, as you can see from photographs of her, even late in life. On her 119th birthday, she said she did not make a wish when she blew out the candles. She got out of bed every day and loved doing things, especially when there were children involved. On her 119th birthday she got up at 6:30am and couldn’t wait to get out of bed.

Diet:

Called a chocoholic, Sara ate chocolate every day until her death. On her 119th birthday, she ate crab patty, a butterscotch sundae, and chocolate turtles. And of course, birthday cake, which was chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.

Her Secret for Longevity:

Keep busy, work hard, and don’t worry about how old you are. She also said she didn’t let anything upset her.

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_people
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Knauss
https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-2000-01-01-3301066-story.html
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1908&dat=19991230id=VkIrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=x9kEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1378,7567856&hl=en
https://books.google.com/books?id=7_sNpNk-3VcC&pg=PA85&dq=%22Sarah+Knauss%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwishpjazcnJAhWr44MKHRxkAXcQ6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=%22Sarah%20Knauss%22&f=false
https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/knauss/8/
http://www.grg.org/knauss119.htm

Weight 7-day Avg. (change since Jan 2018): 218 (-59)
Workout time: 140 Minutes
Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 5.86 Miles (504.32)
Steps: 14,627
Muscle Mass 7-day Avg. (change since Aug 2018): 152.95 (+10)
Body Fat 7-day Avg.: 29%
Daily Sleep Duration 7-day Avg: 5 hours
2019 Goal: 15% Body Fat