114-year-old woman dies in NY Nursing Home Eds: APNewsNow.

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) A 114-year-old woman believed to be the oldest native-born American and the third-oldest person in the world has died at a New York nursing home.

Olivia Patricia Thomas died Monday in the St. Francis Home of Williamsville, near Buffalo. She had lived there since 2004. She's being remembered as a dedicated gardener who loved to travel the world.

The Gerontology Research Group tracks supercentenarians and says Thomas was the oldest person born in the United States. She was born June 29, 1895.

The oldest person in the world is believed to be Kama Chinen (KAH'-mah CHEE'-nen) of Japan, who was born one month and 19 days before Thomas.

Mary Josephine Ray is one week younger than Chinen. She was born in Canada and now lives in Manchester, N.H.

On the Net: Gerontology Research Group: http://www.grg.org (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-17-09 2216CST | save this article / add to your favorites list