America’s oldest person has died, but he left a great legacy, among which are about 120 great-grandchildren.
Hester Ford, of Charlotte, North Carolina, died at the age of 116, according to WBTV.
Born in 1904 in Lancaster, South Carolina, Ford grew up working on a farm, planting and harvesting cotton and plowing fields, the local station said.
In addition to her legion of great-grandparents, the matriarch had 12 children, 48 grandchildren and 108 great-grandchildren, according to the report.
His precise age was unclear. One set of census records shows his birth on August 15, 1904, but another set shows that he was born in 1905. However, last year the Gerontology Research Group declared him to be the oldest person. of the United States.
She died peacefully at home surrounded by family, her great-granddaughter said, according to the station.
“His light shone beyond his local area and he lived beyond a century with memories that contained real experiences of more than 100 years,” Tanisha Patterson-Powe said.
“It not only represented the advancement of our family, but of the black African American race and culture in our country. She remembered how far we have come as people on earth. It has been celebrated around the world by local governments, community leaders, social media, foreign dignities and presidents as a precious gem of society to have the honor of being America’s oldest living person. ”
According to the report, Ford’s 45-year-old husband died in 1963, half a century ago.
COVID-19 was not the church’s first pandemic; he also experienced the 1918 flu pandemic.
Ford ate half a banana every day for breakfast, and when asked about the secret to his longevity last year, he said, “I live well, all I know.”
Local county commissioners declared Mother Hester McCardell Ford’s Day on September 1 in Mecklenburg County, in her honor last year.
“We are honored and just thank God for the opportunity to celebrate it,” said Mary Hill, one of Hester Ford’s 68 grandchildren, according to the local station.
“She is still a blessing to us. And he tells us all the time. You are here to be a blessing to someone else. “