A BC resident, Sum Ying Fung died on December 6, 2011 in Burnaby General Hospital at the age of 112 years. Born in China on January 27, 1899, she had less than two months to turn 113 years.

in 1911, Her husband Chong Lim Fung, came to Canada before marrying her. When he went back to China to marry her, the Canadian government didn’t allow her to join her husband in Canada.

It was only in 1954, the government allowed Sum Ying Fung and their children were allowed to immigrate. Her husband died in 1967.

The City of Vancouver had recognized Fung’s 112th birthday on January 27, 2010 and she also received a letter from the Queen. (Photo credit CBC)

A 100-year-old man from UK, Fauja Singh, finished last at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 16, 2011. Although, he was last to finish the 42.195-kilometre marathon in 8 hours, that was, 6 hours after the winner Kenneth Mungara of Kenya finished it, he is proud to finish it as the the oldest runner.

Guinness reject birthdate in British Passport

The marathon organizers, Ontario Masters Athletics, has officially been recognized Singh’s feat. But, the Guinness official claim that he hasn’t supplied enough proof to support he is 100 year-old. Fauja doesn’t have of a birth certificate and they won’t accept the birthdate printed in his British passport.

Singh, a Punjabi, can’t  read or write and lives in east London. He has a British passport that states he was born on April 1, 1911, in India. But, he doesn’t have a birth certificate. According to his friends, during the time of Singh’s birth, in 1911, they had no mechanism to issue a birth certificate. India was an English colony at that time.

It was the eight marathon of the five-foot-eight, 115-pound Singh, nicknamed the Turbaned Tornado . He started running marathon at the age of 89 in 2000 in London after he lost his wife and child.

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Oldest Marathon runner – Sorry, no Guinness record

I have seen people planning for the retirement on the first year of their jobs. And, this old gentleman was in no hurry to retire for the last 37 years of working as a mail handler.

Chester Arthur Reed, the mail handler in US Postal Service, never took a sick leave from his work and has accured 3,856 hours of sick leave. Born in 1914 as a son of auto mechanic, worked in his dad’s auto shop in his youth. He joined Air Force in 1947 and retired from active service as a sergeant in 1972. The next year he started the Postal Service job.

Reed has been a U.S. Postal Service mail handler and forklift operator since he was hired in 1973, making $4 an hour. He hit the $25-an-hour ceiling about 10 years ago.

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Oldest US Postal worker retired at 95