“Bob was an extraordinary man, and for the family not really because of the extraordinary age he has reached. A model for all of us, he has lived his interested life and is committed to all types of people from all over the world” , said the family.
By reducing recognition at the time, Weighton described himself as “a normal type who has just lived for a long time”.
He also declined the offer of a greeting card from Queen Elizabeth II this year, saying he didn’t want one at the expense of taxpayers and had already received at least 10, PA said.
Until his death, Weighton’s family said, he had a wide range of interests, including politics, theology and ecology. He was also passionate about the environment and had a workshop inside his home full of furniture, windmills and puzzles which he made by hand and sold for charity.
“We are so grateful that until the end Bob has remained our father, witty grandfather and great-grandfather, kind, knowledgeable, conversational, and we will miss him very much,” added the family.
Born in the northern English city of Hull, Weighton was one of seven children. After leaving school at 16, he embarked on a naval engineering apprenticeship. He later moved to Taiwan, where he spent two years studying Mandarin and teaching in a missionary school.
In 1937, he married a fellow teacher, Agnese, and two years later they left for the United Kingdom.
However, their times collided with the outbreak of World War II and the family was diverted to Canada and then moved to Connecticut in the United States, where Weighton worked in a factory building planes to support Britain’s war efforts.
The couple remained in the United States until 1945, when they returned to the United Kingdom.
Subsequently, Weighton taught at City University of London. Agnese died in 1995. He survived his children David and Dorothy, 10 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.
According to Guinness World Records, the oldest person in the world is Kane Tanaka, who lives in Japan. He celebrated his 117th birthday in January.
CNN’s Lianne Kolirin contributed to this report.
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