![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.gordon-elias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/walter-breuning-worlds-oldest-man.jpg\" "\\"walter-breuning-worlds-oldest-man\\"")
Walter Breuning Worlds Oldest Man Dies<\/p><\/div>\n
Reuters<\/a> reports that Breuning, who lived in a nursing home since 1980, was declared the oldest man on July 18, 2009, by the Guinness Book of World Records.<\/p>\n “I am deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend and a great Montanan, Walter Breuning,” Governor Brian Schweitzer said in a statement. “He was wise even beyond his years.”<\/p>\n Breuning was born September 21, 1896, in Melrose, Minnesota, and spent most of his early life in South Dakota before taking a job with the Great Northern Railway in 1913, according to the Rainbow Senior Living retirement home in Great Falls.<\/p>\n He moved to Montana in 1918 to clerk for the railway and married Agnes Twokey, a telegraph operator, four years later.<\/p>\n He retired from the railroad at age 66. He attributed his longevity to restricting daily meals to breakfast and lunch and to downing an aspirin a day.<\/p>\n In recent years, Breuning attracted a following, appearing on “News Hour with Jim Lehrer” in 2009 and participating in a question-and-answer segment in the magazine Men’s Journal.<\/p>\n “He was one of the kindest gentlemen and one of the humblest,” said Stacia Kirby, spokeswoman for the Rainbow.<\/p>\n Kirby said Breuning’s mind was lucid to the end and he had told his caretakers he was unafraid of death.<\/p>\n “Walter taught me that all things in moderation will help lead to a long life, that hard work and a modest living are enough for a happy life and most importantly that giving back to others is good for the soul,” Schweitzer said.<\/p>\n Source: Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n Related article<\/p>\n Retired Railroad Worker is World’s Oldest Living Man<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n