Rhea Barnett, oldest Utahn, dies at age 109 in Taylorsville

Utah's oldest resident — and the only one who had seen the 19th century Century in person — died Monday, Dec. 17, 2007, in Taylorsville.

Rhea Blanche Albiston Briggs Nelson Barnett was 109 years old. She was born the granddaughter of a Mormon polygamist in Franklin, Idaho, in 1898, said her grandson, Jene Lyday of Midvale.

Two groups of geriatric scientists have contacted Mrs. Barnett's family, trying to learn how she lived so long, Lyday said. So far, the family has been unable to provide them with answers. Only three of Mrs. Barnett's 12 children outlived her, according to an obituary printed in Wednesday's Deseret Morning News. And the family has been unable to get a final count of six generations of her descendants.

Mrs. Barnett was married three times and worked as a seamstress for a high-end dress shop in downtown Salt Lake City. When she was 82, she eloped to Idaho with then-86-year-old George Barnett. By law, the couple was required to submit a blood test, Lyday said. The couple submitted to the test in a local emergency room but were not required to wait for the results before marrying.

Family always came first for Mrs. Barnett, Lyday said. She lived a simple life and always gave the advice to stay close to family.

Toward the end of Mrs. Barnett's long life, she took an airplane flight to California, Lyday said. She loved dancing and traveling.

Mrs. Barnett saw the advent of everything from common use of electricity to cars to homes heated by gas furnaces, Lyday said. She also knew of computers but couldn't comprehend them, Lyday said. The centenarian found family pictures on laptop computers "absolutely amazing."

Mrs. Barnett took over the title of Utah's oldest resident when Pearl Thompsen Blain of Sanpete County died in 2006 at the age of 110. Cache Valley resident A.B. Blake is now Utah's oldest resident. He turned 106 Tuesday.