ByBob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
ByBob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hester Ford, the oldest living person in the United States, died Saturday at her home in Charlotte, North Carolina, her family said. She was 115.
Hester McCardell Ford wasborn Aug. 15, 1905, in Lancaster County, South Carolina, according to the Gerontology Research Group. Some U.S. census records place her birth year as 1904. She became the oldest person in the United States when Alelia Murphy died on Nov. 23, 2019, at the age of 114.
She had lived in the Charlotte area since the 1950s, WSOC-TV reported.
“She was a pillar and stalwart to our family and provided much-needed love, support and understanding to us all,” Ford’s great-granddaughter, Tanisha Patterson-Powe, posted on Facebook. “She was the seed that sprouted leaves and branches which is now our family. God saw fit to make her the matriarch of your family and blessed us to be her caretakers and recipients of her legacy.”
Official Family Statement for Hester McCardell Ford
Greetings Family, Friends & the Global Community:
It is with...
Ford’s father was a farmer in South Carolina. She grew up picking cotton, plowing fields and canning vegetables before moving to Charlotte, WSOC reported.
She was married to John Ford in South Carolina on March 12, 1921. They raised a family in Pleasant Hill, South Carolina, before moving to Charlotte. John Ford died Jan. 10, 1963, in Charlotte, according to vital records.
Hester Ford had 12 children, 48 grandchildren, 108 great-grandchildren, and approximately 120 great-great-grandchildren.
“Although she has passed, her legacy and memory will continue to live on through her family and everyone she has touched to make the world a better place for generations to come,” the family’s Facebook post read. “In closing, we would sincerely like to thank everyone for their support, extended gratitude as we keep her legacy alive. As we pause from our day-to-day activities let us reflect on how far we have come and where we are aspiring to go in the name and legacy of Mother Hester McCardell Ford.”
Hester Ford was a longtime member of Macedonia Baptist Church. Sept. 1, 2020, was designated as Mother Hester McCardell Ford Day by the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, WSOC reported.
#MeckBOCC is proclaiming today as Mother Hester McCardell Ford Day.
At 116, Ford is believed to be the oldest living American and has lived in the same home in CLT for 59 years.
She has 12 children, 48 grandchildren, 108 great grandchildren and 120 great, great grandchildren! pic.twitter.com/zOL5fv25DV
Funeral arrangements are pending, according to the television station.
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(Photo by Ryan Miller/Getty Images) (Ryan Miller/Getty Images)
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Marvelous Marvin Hagler Marvelous Marvin Hagler, the undisputed middleweight boxing champion from 1980 to 1987, died, his wife said March 13. He was 66.. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Roger Mudd Roger Mudd, a longtime political correspondent for CBS News who later moved to NBC, died March 9. He was 93. (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Mark Pavelich Mark Pavelich, who set up the winning goal in the U.S. hockey team's "Miracle on Ice" victory against the Soviet Union in 1980. was found dead March 4 at a Minnesota treatment center. He was 63.. (Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images )
Reggae legend Bunny Wailer dead at 73 Bunny Wailer, the last standing member of the Bob Marley group, The Wailers, is pictured on stage in Paris the July 20, 2014. The reggae icon died Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at the age of 73. (Michael Bunel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Vernon Jordan FILE PHOTO: Vernon Jordan, former advisor to President Bill Clinton, introduces Clinton on the second day of the Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library April 9, 2014 in Austin, Texas. Jordan died March 1 at the age of 85. (Pool/Getty Images)
Prince Markie Dee Prince Markie Dee, a member of the Fat Boys hip-hop group, died Feb. 18. He was 52. (Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
Rush Limbaugh FILE PHOTO: Radio personality Rush Limbaugh reacts after First Lady Melania Trump gives him the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. He was 70. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Chick Corea Chick Corea, who pioneered jazz fusion as a composer and keyboardist, died Feb. 9. He was 79. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
Larry Flynt Larry Flynt, the founder and publisher of Hustler magazine who was involved in several First Amendment battles, died Feb. 10. He was 78. (Dave Pickoff/Associated Press )
Marty Schottenheimer FILE - San Diego Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer answers a question at a news conference in San Diego, in this Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007, file photo. Schottenheimer died Monday night, Feb. 8, 2021, at a hospice in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Denis Poroy/AP)
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Leon Spinks Leon Spinks, right, who stunned the boxing world when he defeated Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title in February 1978, died Feb. 5. He was 67. (Associated Press )
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Dianne Durham Dianne Durham, right, the first Black to win a USA Gymnastics national title, died Feb. 4 in Chicago. She was 52. (Lisa Genesen, Associated Press, file)
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Cloris Leachman Actress Cloris Leachman, whose eight-decade career included an Oscar-winning performance in "The Last Picture Show" and a role as the grim-faced Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein,” died Jan. 2. She was 94. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP file)
Jimmie Rodgers Jimmie Rodgers, who scored his biggest hit with "Honeycomb" in 1957, died Jan. 18. He was 87. (Jim McCrary/Redfern)
Legendary talk show host Larry King dead at 87 FILE PHOTO: Legendary talk show host Larry King has died. He was 87. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
Gregory Sierra Gregory Sierra, who played Sgt. Miguel “Chano” Amanguale on "Barney Miller," died Jan. 4. Sierra also starred on "Sanford and Son" and appeared in several other television shows. (Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
Bob Avian Tony Award-winning choreographer Bob Avian died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Jan. 21. He was 83. (Shiho Fukada/Associated Press, File)
Mira Furlan Actress Mira Furlan, who starred in all 111 episodes of "Babylon 5" and also appeared in "Lost." died Jan. 20. She was 65. ( Michael Schwartz/WireImage)
Baseball legend Hank Aaron dead at 86 FILE PHOTO: Legendary baseball slugger Henry “Hank” Aaron has died. He was 86. (Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
Don Sutton Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, who won 324 games and pitched for six pennant winners during his 23-year major league baseball career, died Jan. 18. He was 75. ( Andrew Snook/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Harry Brant Harry Brant, the son of supermodel Stephanie Seymour and businessman Peter Brant, died Jan. 17 from an accidental overdose. He was 24. ( Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)
Phil Spector has died at 81 FILE PHOTO: Music producer Phil Spector, known for his "Wall of Sound" and who was later convicted of murder, has died. He was 81. (Pool/Getty Images)
Sylvain Sylvain Sylvain Sylvain, a guitarist for the New York Dolls, a group that ushered in the punk rock era of the 1970s, died Jan. 13. He was 69. ( Matt Kent/WireImage)
Siegfried Fischbacher FILE PHOTO: Siegfried Fischbacher speaks during the 23rd annual Keep Memory Alive 'Power of Love Gala' benefit for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health at MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fischbacher died Jan. 15 at the age of 81. (Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Keep Memory Ali)
Sheldon Adelson FILE - This Feb. 10, 2017 file photo, Chief Executive of Las Vegas Sands Corporation Sheldon Adelson shows at a business roundtable with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Adelson, the billionaire mogul and power broker who built a casino empire spanning from Las Vegas to China and became a singular force in domestic and international politics has died after a long illness, his wife said Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) (Andrew Harnik/AP)
Eve Branson FILE PHOTO: Richard Branson (L) and honoree Eve Branson attend the AltaMed Power Up, We Are The Future Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on May 12, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. Richard Branson announced the death of his mother due to COVID-19. (Michael Kovac)
Nancy Bush Ellis FILE PHOTO: This Jan. 7, 1990, file photo shows President George H. W. Bush hiding behind his sister, Nancy Ellis, as he prepares for a jog along the C&O canal in the Georgetown section of Washington. A longtime Democrat who helped her Republican brother and nephew get elected president, died of complications of the coronavirus Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, at an assisted living facility in Concord, Massachusetts. She was 94. (Marcy Nighswander/AP)
Actor John Reilly dead at 86 Actor John Reilly is pictured holding his daughter, Caitlyn Reilly, when she was a child. The longtime soap opera actor died in early January 2021 of an undisclosed cause. (Courtesy Caitlyn Reilly)
Tommy Lasorda FILE PHOTO: Tommy Lasorda of the Los Angeles Dodgers poses for a portrait during spring training photo day at Camelback Ranch on February 20, 2014 in Glendale, Arizona. The Dodgers announced Lasorda died at the age of 93. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Neil Sheehan Neil Sheehan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose articles on the Pentagon Papers triggered a court battle, died Jan. 7. He was 84. (Frederic Reglain/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Eric Jerome Dickey Bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey died Jan. 3 in Los Angeles. He was 59. (Joseph Jones via Associated Press )
Tanya Roberts FILE PHOTO: Actress Tanya Roberts arrives at the gala premiere of "Criss Angel Believe" by Cirque du Soleil at the Luxor Resort & Casino October 31, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The former Bond girl died Jan. 4 at the age of 65. Her death was confirmed after conflicting reports from her publicist and her companion. (Ethan Miller)
Gerry Marsden FILE PHOTO - In this April 25, 1964 file photo, Gerry Marsden leaps over his band, the Pacemakers. Gerry Marsden, the British singer and lead singer of Gerry and the Pacemakers, who was instrumental in turning a song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel” into one of the great anthems in the world of football, has died. He was 78. (AP)
Paul Westphal Hall of Fame basketball coach Paul Westphal died Jan. 2, the Phoenix Suns announced. He was 70. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Floyd Little Hall of Fame running back Floyd Little, who starred at Syracuse University and for the NFL's Denver Broncos, died Jan. 1. He was 78. ( Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
