An Indonesian man who outlived all his children, four wives and 10 siblings was laid to rest on Monday.
According to his identity card, Sodimejo — locally known as Mbah Gotho — was born on Dec. 31, 1870. He claimed to be 146 years old, which would have made him the world’s oldest person.
But there’s been some speculation around that, since Indonesia only started recording births in 1900. Officials later told BBC, his papers checked out but there have been mistakes reported before.
The man from Sragen in central Java was known for spending his days smoking and eating. But according to local media reports, his health started to deteriorate a few years ago.
On April 12, he was taken to hospital but almost a week later he insisted on returning home. All Gotho wanted to do in his final years, was to rest in peace.
“What I want is to die,” he told local news agencies last year. “My grandchildren are all independent.”
Gotho was considered a legend in the community. If he was as old as he claimed, he would have lived through two world wars and seen the innovations from the invention of light bulbs to self-driving cars.
“There were no specific signs from grandfather before he passed away, it was even a surprise to me. The problem was he didn’t want to eat or drink. On Sunday he asked to go for a walk by himself. Then at 5 p.m. he passed away,” Gotho’s grandson Suryanto said.
Gotho’s family said they have been preparing for his death for a long time. They prepared his tombstone in 1992.
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While he was alive, local authorities said they were going to help him be recognized by Guiness World Records, but that never happened.
So officially, the oldest person ever to live continues to be Jeanne Louise Calment of France, who was born on Feb. 21, 1875 and died at 122 years and 164 days.
As for the secret to a long and prosperous life, Gotho told Liputan 6 in 2016, “The recipe was just patience.”
— With files from Reuters.
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