Mississippi Winn

Mississippi Winn (March 31, 1897 – January 14, 2011) was an African American supercentenarian. At the age of 113 years, 289 days, she was the seventh oldest person in the world at the time of her death. She became the oldest resident in Louisiana upon the death of Maggie Renfro on January 22, 2010. After Daisey Bailey's death on March 7, 2010, Winn became the oldest livingAfrican American. She was claimed to be the last living child of former slaves, according to census records. Other children of former slaves have since been found.[citation needed] She moved into the list of the verified oldest women on December 4, 2010, and into the list of the verified oldest people on January 8, 2011.

Mississippi Winn was born in Benton, Louisiana in 1897. She was the 13th of 15 children born to Mack and Ellen Winn. She was a housekeeper all of her life and cleaned and cooked her own meals until the age of 103 when she moved into Magnolia Manor Nursing Home in Shreveport in 2001.

She moved to Seattle, Washington in c. 1957 and resided there for 18 years until her youngest sister's death in 1975. Her death caused Winn to move to Shreveport, where she had lived ever since.

Winn avoided dairy products, and took one vitamin and aspirin per day. Her favorite foods were fruits and vegetables. She was baptized at the age of 11 at Providence Baptist Church in Benton, LA. She later joined Avenue Baptist Church, where she was a member for 82 years. Members from the church presented her with a plaque entitled "The Marriage of Avenue Baptist Church and Miss Mississippi Winn." She received a letter from President Barack Obama.

Winn enjoyed reading the Bible. She never married, and had only one child, who died in infancy at the age of two. Winn had many nieces and nephews who most frequently called her "Aunt Sweetie".

Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover presented a proclamation to her and named March 31 "Miss Mississippi Winn Day" in the city of Shreveport.