Tri-Cities oldest known resident dies at 109. The reason for her longevity was no secret

Irene Bott accomplished the near impossible in her extraordinarily long life.

She was widowed in 2002 but lived independently another 11 years in Clarkston. She only moved into the Kennewick home of her daughter and son-in-law, Elaine and Rex Brinkman, when she was 99.

That was 10 years ago. Bott was 109 when she died at home on Oct. 27. She was possibly the longest lived person in Tri-City history.

Jim Derting of Life Tributes Cremation Center in Kennewick said Mrs. Bott was the oldest person he ever had the privilege of serving in his 51 years in the industry.

Irene Kiesecker was born in 1914, the oldest of five children of Albert and Bertha Mallory Kiesecker, farmers and musicians who performed at local dances and passed on their love of music to their daughter.

She was raised in Anatone, the tiny community in Asotin County, on the Washington-Idaho-Oregon border. She graduated from high school in 1932 and worked as a housekeeper for a local farm family, earning $2.50 a week, her daughter shared with the Tri-City Herald.

She married Earl Bott in 1935 and the couple farmed on Grouse Flat, near Troy, Ore., for 10 years. They had three sons during their time there and no electricity. The family hung items in a well shaft to keep them cool.

In 1938, the couple purchased a Ford Model A pickup, which Earl used to haul items for neighboring farms on contract.

They moved to Pomeroy, Wash., in 1945 where it was easier to access school teachers. Daughter Elaine was born in Pomeroy, completing the family.

Elaine Brinkman said her her mother was a fantastic cook who prepared meals for the harvest crew all summer and grew a large garden while helping with the family animals. She loved reading, sewing, quilting, knitting and word puzzles too.

After retiring, Irene and Earl Bott moved to Clarkston.

Farm lifestyle

Bott attributed her longevity to farm living, raising all her own food and avoiding processed foods at all costs, her daughter said.

“She was always happy, never complained about anything and was thankful for every day,” Elaine Brinkman said.

Longevity runs in the family, she noted. Bott’s brother lived to be 101 and her aunt to almost 106.

“It was a long life. It was a good life,” she said.

In addition to four children, Irene Bott had 10 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren and nine great-great grandchildren.

Bott, who was 106 when the 2020 census was conducted, was in rarefied company even then.

There were about 82,000 people age 100 or older living in the U.S. — 63,162 woman and 16,977 men, out of a total population of more than 331 million. As a percentage, the centenarians are so tiny the census rounds their cohort to zero.

The 2020 census found 60 residents age 100 or older in the Tri-Cities — 49 in Benton County and 11 in Franklin. The Washington Department of Health confirms the oldest person to have ever lived in the state died at 117.

The oldest verified living human is currently Maria Branyas Morera, an American born woman living in Spain, who is approaching her 117th birthday, according to the Gerontology Research Group. The list was last updated Oct. 3, 2023.