Oldest Living American Hester McCardell Ford Dies At 116

CHARLOTTE, NC — Hester McCardell Ford, a 116-year-old Charlotte woman who was the United States' oldest living resident, died over the weekend, according to a statement from her family on Facebook.

"She was a pillar and stalwart to our family and provided much-needed love, support and understanding to us all," the statement said. "She was the seed that sprouted leaves and branches which is now our family. God saw fit to make her the matriarch of our family and blessed us to be her caretakers and recipients of her legacy."

Conflicting reports have come in on Ford's actual age. Some have said it is 115 and others, 116. But either way, she was the oldest living American and sixth-oldest person in the world, data from Gerontology Research Group shows, according to reports from WCTI and WSOC.

Family members and friends organized a birthday parade for her in August, which had been dubbed her 116th birthday.

Related On Patch: Oldest Living American Celebrates 116th Birthday

The oldest living American, Ford was the mother of 12, grandmother of 48 and great-grandmother or great-great grandmother of more than 200, the reports state.

Her family said Ford "not only represented the advancement of our family but of the Black African American race and culture in our country."

She lived through 21 U.S. presidencies, both World War I and World War II, the women's suffrage movement and Jim Crow laws.

"She was a reminder of how far we have come as people on this Earth," her family said.

A South Carolina native, Ford got married in 1921 and moved to Charlotte with her husband, John Ford, in 1960. He died just three years later at age 57, leaving Ford a widow for nearly 58 years.

She's lived in the same Charlotte home the entire time, reports state.

Her distinction as America's oldest living human earned a proclamation in Mecklenburg County on Sept. 1, 2020, as "Mother Hester McCardell Ford Day."