Delma Kollar

	Delma Kollar
	;
Birth:	31 October 1897; Lone Elm, Kansas, USA
Death:	24 January 2012; Creswell, Oregon, USA
Age:	114 years, 85 days
Country:	USA
	Validated

Delma Dorothie Kollar (née Lowman; 31 October 1897 – 24 January 2012) was an American supercentenarian. At the time of her death, she was the fourth-oldest living person in the world, behind Besse Cooper, Dina Manfredini, and Jiroemon Kimura. She became the oldest person ever to be born in Kansas on 14 July 2010, surpassing the previous record of 112 years, 255 days set by Flossie Page in February 2006. On her last birthday, she became one of only 88 people to have attained the age of 114. Before recent research, she was thought to have been born in 1898. This was proved to have been wrong, based on the data in the census closest to her date of birth and proof that her younger sister was born in February 1899.^[1]^[2]

Biography

Kollar was one of six children born to Bascom and Mary Jane (née Smith) Lowman in Lone Elm, Anderson County, Kansas. Both her parents lived into their 90s, and two of Kollar's aunts lived past 100. After high school, Kollar attended Cottey College, earning a teaching certificate. Her first teaching job was in a two-room schoolhouse in Prairiedell. Later she earned college degrees in biology and English from Baker University and then worked as a schoolteacher in Kansas and California for more than 25 years. In 1923, Kollar married William Hoggatt. They had three children: Jean Cooper, Earlene Duncan, and Bill Hoggatt. William died in December 1966.^[2]

Kollar later married Harry Kollar and the couple moved to Oregon in 1982. Harry Kollar died in 1986.^[2]

Kollar outlived all 5 of her siblings and two of her 3 children. She had 6 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, 11 great-great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-great-grandchild.^[3]