The world's oldest person has died at 117

Misao Okawa, the world's oldest person, died on Wednesday of heart failure, officials from her nursing home announced. Nursing home employees told NBC News that Okawa had recently begun eating less than normal, and they were concerned for her health.

Okawa, who lived in Osaka, Japan, was declared the oldest living person by Guinness World Records in 2013. She celebrated her 117th birthday in March. Okawa was married at 21 and had three children, three grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

"She went so peacefully, as if she had just fallen asleep," Tomohiro Okada, an official at the nursing home, told The Associated Press. "We miss her a lot."

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Gertrude Weaver, a 116-year-old woman living in Arkansas, is now the world's oldest living person.