| Claudia Ketcham | |
 | |
| Birth: | 1 December 1897 Humphreys, Missouri, USA |
| Death: | 20 October 2008 Waterloo, Iowa, USA |
| Age: | 110 years, 324 days |
| Country: |  USA
|
| Validated | |
Claudia F. Ketcham (née Smith, formerly Wren; 1 December 1897 – 20 October 2008) was an American supercentenarian whose age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). At the time of her death, she was among the oldest known living people in the U.S. state of Iowa.
Biography[]
Claudia Ketcham was born as Claudia F. Smith in Humphreys, Missouri, USA on 1 December 1897 as the second child of Thomas Hardy Smith and Sarah M. V. Boxwell. She had an older sister, Pearl, as well as nine half-siblings from her father's previous marriage. Her father died in 1899 at the age of 62, and Ketcham moved with her sister and mother to Waterloo, Iowa by 1910.
Ketcham married Clarence S. "Whitey" Wren on 19 March 1917. The couple had two children: Rosamond, who died in infancy in 1918, and Betty, born in 1923, who outlived her. After her husband's death in 1954, she remarried to Reverend Harry Ketcham, known as Pop.
Ketcham was a homemaker throughout her adult life, and also did missionary work with her second husband. She loved the company of others, and was regularly heard saying to people, "Bless your heart!" She opened her house to guests to celebrate her 108th and 109th birthdays in 2005 and 2006.
Claudia Ketcham died in her home in Waterloo, Iowa, USA on 20 October 2008 at the age of 110 years, 324 days. She was survived by her daughter Betty, as well as three grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and 16 great-great-grandchildren. Her age was verified by Filipe Prista Lucas, and validated by the GRG on 1 June 2009.
Gallery[]
References[]
- Claudia Ketcham GRG Gallery
- Deaths for 2008 (in Chronological Order) Gerontology Research Group
- Claudia Ketcham LongeviQuest
- Claudia F. Smith Ketcham Find A Grave