Overton
Richard Overton, a
World War II veteran who was America’s oldest man, has died at the age of 112.
Overton, who lived in
Austin, Texas, died on Thursday at a rehabilitation home, his cousin, Volma
Overton Jr, told the Austin-American Statesman.
He had been
hospitalized earlier this month with pneumonia, the newspaper said.
Overton’s longevity
and his status as the oldest living American veteran of World War II made him a
celebrity of sorts over the past few years.
In 2013, he visited
Washington and met with president Barack Obama at the White House.
The street where he
lived in Austin was renamed “Richard Overton Avenue” on his 111th birthday.
Overton was born on
May 11, 1906 in Texas. He served in the US Army in the Pacific from 1942 to
1945.
After returning home,
Overton worked in furniture stores and for the office of the state treasurer.
Overton spent his
later years sitting on his porch smoking cigars and sipping coffee or Coca-Cola
with a dash of whiskey, the Statesman said.
He was married twice
but had no children.
According to the
Gerontology Research Group, the oldest living man in the world is 113-year-old
Masazou Nonaka of Japan.
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