Julie W. Bertrand, 115; World's Oldest Woman

Julie Winnifred Bertrand, at 115 the world's oldest woman, died Jan. 18 in a Montreal nursing home. The cause of death was not reported.

Miss Bertrand, born Sept. 16, 1891, in the Quebec town of Coaticook, died at a nursing home where she had lived for the past 35 years, her nephew told the Gazette in Montreal.

Miss Bertrand became the world's oldest woman last month, after the death of Elizabeth Bolden, a Tennessee woman born Aug. 15, 1890, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

The designation made Miss Bertrand an instant celebrity. Elaine Sauciere said the fame her aunt acquired late in life was really quite "unbelievable."

A British film crew had just requested an interview with Miss Bertrand for a documentary on people who live long lives. The work also features Emiliano Mercado del Toro of Puerto Rico, the world's oldest person, who was 26 days older than Miss Bertrand.

Andre Bertrand said his aunt never had a problem saying no -- and did so to dozens of journalists, filmmakers and medical researchers intent on discovering her secret to long life.

"She was tough, feisty and self-sufficient," he said.

The eldest of six children, Miss Bertrand never married.