Born-September 21, 1896
Melrose, Minnesota, United States
Died-April 14, 2011
(aged 114 years, 205 days)
Great Falls, Montana, United States
Residence-Great Falls, Montana,
United States
Nationality-American
Occupation-Retired railroader
Spouse-Agnes C. Breuning (née Twokey)
(1922–1957, her death)
Parents-John Breuning
(1864-1951)
Cora Mae (née Morehouse)
(1870-1971)
His long good health he put down to a strict regime of two meals a day."How many people in this country say that they can't take the weight off?" he asked in an interview with the Associated Press news agency in October."I tell these people, I says get on a diet and stay on it. You'll find that you're in much better shape, feel good."The former railway clerk died of natural causes in hospital in Great Falls.He had been living in the same retirement home since 1980.His wife of 35 years, Agnes Twokey, died childless in 1957."We got along very good," Breuning said. "She wouldn't like to spend money, I'll tell you that."Of his grandfather, he remembered hearing, at the age of three, his recollections of killing Southerners during the Civil War."I thought that was a hell of a thing to say," he said.Reflecting on mortality, he told the Associated Press: "We're going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you're born to die."