Hester Ford, declared 'oldest human on planet' with 68 grandchildren, passes away at 115

A 115-year-old woman from Charlotte, US with 68 grandchildren, 125 great-grandchildren, and at least 120 great-great-grandchildren has died, her great-granddaughter, Tanisha Patterson-Powe, said in a statement to Charlotte’s Observer. Hester McCardell Ford was the oldest person alive in the US, and the oldest human being on the planet as she survived more than twice her husband’s age who had deceased aged 57 in 1963. Calling the old lady a pillar and stalwart to the family, the great-granddaughter Patterson-Powe said that McCardell was a matriarch figure of the family who provided much-needed love, support, and understanding to all members of the family. She was the seed that sprouted leaves and branches, the late McCardell’s relative described. 

US’ oldest person was born in Lancaster County, S.C., to a family that owned a farm, and she had grown up ploughing fields and rearing cotton plants. She was married to her now-deceased husband, John Ford, at the age of 14. At the age of 15, McCardell had given birth to at least 12 children and became a house caretaker as her husband went to work at the local steel mill. She moved to Charlotte to live near Interstates 77 and 85 in the 1960s eventually after the couple sold their house. Three years later, her husband died. McCardell lived all by herself with her children in the Dalebrook neighbourhood and until her old age hired no caregiver. It was also reportedly the first time ever that she had needed hospital care after she fell ill. There was, however, confusion surrounding her age as some believed that the oldest living American was in fact 116 years old. 

[Hester McCardell Ford. Credit: AP]

Confusion around her age

A Gerontology Research Group, that listed the age for the people in the US described McCardell’s age as 115 years and 245 days. “She not only represented the advancement of our family but of the Black African American race and culture in our country. She was a reminder of how far we have come as people on this earth,” Patterson-Powe separately, told The Associated Press. She further described the old lady’s final day's routine as, having her breakfast that always included half a banana, a trip outside to inhale some fresh air, and sitting in her recliner tuning into some gospel music, or solving a puzzle.