On Tuesday, Bessie Hendricks, believed to be the oldest person in the USA, died at a nursing home in Lake City Iowa. On her 115th birthday last November, she was declared America’s oldest living person by the Gerontology Research Group, and was thought to be the world’s fourth oldest person at the time of her death.
In her life, Bessie went on to have five children, nine grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and 42 great-great-grandchildren.
She was born on November 7 1907 in Carroll County, Maryland, but grew up in rural Iowa where she worked as a school teacher and married her husband Paul Hendricks, in 1930.
After 65 years of marriage, her husband died in 1995, and she went on to outlive two of her children.
Bessie lived through many historical events, including both the Spanish flu and the COVID-19 pandemic and saw 21 US Presidents serve in the White House.
Bessie was asked frequently what the secret to a long life is, and on her 110th birthday she said “hard work” was the answer.
She has also revealed that staying away from doctors and avoiding stress is her secret to success.
However, her family have said that enjoying sweets was also the secret to Bessie’s long life, and they said she always ate what she wanted and never passed up dessert.
Leon Hendricks, her son, said: “Mom loves sweets” when being interviewed by the media on Bessie’s 112th birthday.
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Bessie was one of the few people in the world to be a supercentenarian, a term for people over 110 years old
Dr Thomas Perls, the director of Centenarian Study at Boston University, has said there were only around 70 supercentenarians in America in 2017, and that there were around 350 supercentenarians worldwide.
Nine months before she died, a Facebook fan page was created to celebrate her in April 2022, and fans are currently mourning her death.
People have expressed their condolences, with one fan describing Bessie as “an amazing lady” and another saying she must have had amazing stories to tell.
One user wrote: “Rest in Peace Bessie Hendricks. My deepest condolences and sympathy to all her loved ones. She will be missed by all of us.”
