Key points from article :
Fredie Blom, who was thought to be the oldest man in the world, has died at the age of 116.
He was born in Eastern Cape province in May 1904, but never verified by Guinness World Records.
His entire family was wiped out by the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.
He spent most of his life as a labourer and only retired when he was in his 80s.
Although he gave up drinking many years ago, he was a regular smoker.
Two weeks before his death he was still chopping wood.
