Jeanie Simpson Oliver; Glasgow’s First Telephone Operator Was 111

Jeanie Simpson Oliver, who was born during the reign of Queen Victoria and became one of Scotland’s first telephone operators, has died at 111.

She was among the oldest people in the world. The Guinness Book of World Records lists a 116-year-old French woman as the oldest person in the world whose birth date can be authenticated. Rosa Jackson Lumpkin of Buffalo, N.Y., died in December at 115 while Ettie Mae Greene of Lindside, W. Va., died last week at 114. They were considered the oldest people in the United States.

Mrs. Oliver was born Aug. 17, 1880, in West Gilbride, Scotland, and had lived in Scranton since 1910, said her daughter Elizabeth Miles. Mrs. Oliver died Sunday of complications of old age at a nursing home here where she had lived for two years.

Her daughter said Mrs. Oliver was a bright, alert woman who could recite Bible passages and sing hymns from memory as recently as two weeks ago. Her faith and positive outlook sustained her, Miles said.

“She always just said she was happy and that she lived a good life every day,” Miles said. “She always had a smile, even to the end.”

Mrs. Oliver, who worked for many years as a self-employed dressmaker, was a widow. She had six children. Miles said newspaper clippings identify her as Glasgow’s first telephone operator.