| Hester Ford | |
 Ford on her 115th birthday in August 2020 | |
| Validated |
Hester Ford (née McCardell; born 15 August 1905) is an American supercentenarian who has been the oldest living person in the United States since the death of 114 year-old Alelia Murphy on 23 November 2019. Ford's family have claimed she was born in 1904, but she is validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) as having been born in 1905.
Biography
Early Life
Hester Ford was born on 15 August 1905 in Lancaster, Lancaster County, South Carolina, United States to Peter and Frances McCardell. She worked on a farm where she not only planted and picked cotton, but plowed the field and cut wood. She married John Ford on 12 March 1921, when she was 15, and they had 12 children (eight girls and four boys, including Hattie Thomas).
Later Life
Ford moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1953 where she worked for more than 20 years as a nanny. Her husband died at the age of 57 in 1963. She is a devout Christian and spent many years volunteering at her local church.
Ford now suffers from dementia, but she is still able to remember Bible verses. On her 112th birthday, she was able to recite the 23rd Psalm. As of August 2017, she has 53 grandchildren, 120 great-grandchildren, and 126 great-great-grandchildren. She still lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is the sixth-oldest person in the world whose age has been validated by the GRG.
Gallery
References
- Gerontology Research Group
- Hester Ford celebrates 109th birthday
- Charlotte woman turns 112 and can recite Psalm 23 without skipping a beat
- Oldest living woman in NC lives in Charlotte, celebrates 112th birthday
- On 112th Birthday, She Perfectly Recites Psalm 23. Knows She’s Ready to “Be With Jesus”
- This NC woman is turning 115. Or 116? Either way, she’s the oldest person in the U.S. The Charlotte Observer, 14 August 2020
- Live long and prosper: Hester Ford celebrates her 116th birthday The Charlotte Post, 19 August 2020