America’s oldest person has passed away, but she has left quite a legacy – not the least of which are 120 great-grandchildren.
Hester Ford, from Charlotte, North Carolina, died at the age of 116, according to WBTV.
Ford was born in Lancaster, South Carolina in 1904 and grew up on a farm, planting and plucking cotton and plowing the fields, the local station said.
In addition to her legion of great-grandchildren, the matriarch reportedly had 12 children, 48 grandchildren and 108 great-grandchildren.
Her exact age was unclear. One set of census records shows her birth on August 15, 1904, but another set shows that she was born in 1905. Last year, the Gerontology Research Group reportedly stated that she was the oldest person in the US.
She died peacefully at home, surrounded by family, according to the station, her great-granddaughter said.
“Her light shone past her local environment and she has lived for more than a century with memories that contain more than 100 years of experience,” Tanisha Patterson-Powe said.
“She represents not only the progress of our family, but also the black African-American race and culture in our country. She was a reminder of how far we as humans have come on this earth. She is celebrated around the world by local governments, community leaders, social media, foreign dignities and presidents as a cherished jewel of society because she holds the honor of being the oldest living person in America. ”
According to the report, Ford’s 45-year-old husband died in 1963, half a century ago.
COVID-19 was not the first pandemic of the churchgoer; she also went through the flu pandemic in 1918.
Ford ate half a banana for breakfast every day, and when asked about the secret of her long life, she said, “I just live right, everything I know.”
Local land commissioners declared September 1 last year in her honor as mother Hester McCardell Ford Day in Mecklenburg County.
“We are honored and thank God only for the opportunity to celebrate her,” said Mary Hill, one of Hester Ford’s 68 grandchildren, according to the local station.
“She just keeps being a blessing to us. And she tells us all the time. You are here to bless someone else. ”