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Hester Ford, center, celebrates her birthday in 2019 with her family members. Ford died last Saturday at 115 or 116.
Hester Ford, who was America s oldest person living, died at her home in Charlotte, N.C., on April 17. Ford was at least 115 years old, though some records say she was possibly 116.
Ford lived through sharecropping, the 1918 flu pandemic, the Great Depression, World War I and II, Jim Crow laws, the civil rights movement and the coronavirus pandemic.
After growing up on a farm, she got married at age 14 to John Ford, and the pair purchased a farm and started raising their family in Lancaster, S.C. Together they had 12 children, four of whom are still alive, 68 grandchildren, 125 great-grandchildren and at least 120 great-great-grandchildren.
Hester Ford, Oldest Living American, Dies At 115 (Or 116) – Nation & World News
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Hester Ford, Oldest Living American, Dies At 115 (Or 116)
npr.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from npr.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.