One of oldest people in U.S. is 'very happy and very grateful' to celebrate 112th birthday

Isabel Castano's life is anything but conventional. For one, it began when Theodore Roosevelt was president. She was born in 1906.

Castano just celebrated her 112th birthday. The supercentenarian said that she is "very happy and very grateful," to be reaching the milestone, she told WPLG.

Miami Beach celebrates Isabel Castano de Lugo Day on Jan. 11. She's believed to be one of the oldest living people in the U.S.

The last person to hold the Guinness World Record for the oldest person alive was Violet Moss-Brown of Jamaica, who lived to be 117. Guinness is currently working to verify the next holder of that title.

Castano said the secret to her longevity is her faith.

"I left everything behind to follow my God," she said.

Early in life, Castano started a factory for medical ointments and creams in her birth country of Colombia, according to WPLG. She married at age 41 and soon after had a son, but then tragedy hit: Her husband was kidnapped. She never saw him again.

She moved to the United States to start a new life. She finally settled in Miami, where she has lived for the past 20 years.

Her son, Danilo Lugo Castano, said he's grateful for all she's given them and that she still has such a sharp mind.

"She is feeling very well. She is feeling happy. And she is very conscious," he said. "Incredible, at her age, that her mind is conscious."