The Oldest Person in America Dies at the Age of 116

The Oldest Person in America,  Hester Ford has died last Saturday at the age of 116.

Hester Ford was born in South Carolina in 1904 and died on April 17, 2021, leaving behind 12 children, 48 grandchildren, and 108 great-grandchildren.

There, however, exists conflicting records on her actual date of birth, with one set showing that she was born on August 15, 1904, while another records her year of birth as 1905.

Despite the unclear information, the Gerontology Research Group declared in 2020 that she was the oldest person in America.

In her honor, local county commissioners of Mecklenburg County officially declared September 1 as Mother Hester McCardell Ford Day. It is reported that Ford lost her husband of 45 years in 1963, a half-century ago.

A great-grandchild, Patterson-Powe wrote: “It is overwhelming, yet an awakening experience to realize my grandmother wasn’t just an ordinary woman, she was extraordinary.”

One of her grandchildren, Mary Hill said: “We are honored and we just thank God for the opportunity to celebrate her.”

In her 116 years of being on earth, Ford has gone through several pandemics among them was the 1918 influenza and most recently, COVID-19. When Ford was interviewed a while back on how she has managed to remain alive for over a century, she revealed that she ate half of a banana for breakfast on daily basis and just lived right.