Bessie Hendricks.Photo: Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock
Bessie Hendricks, believed to be the oldest person in the U.S., has died. She was 115.
Bessie was born on November 7, 1907, in a farm home a few miles southeast of Auburn, IA. She grew up in Lake City and graduated high school in May 1926, according toher obituary in Lake City.
After graduation, the lifelong Iowa resident taught at a one-room schoolhouse for four years before meeting and marrying Paul Hendricks. They were together for 65 years until Paul passed away in 1995.
Bessie and Paul had five children, Shirley Ann, Joan Lois, Roland Paul, Glenda Betty, and Leon Ray and Bessie outlived two of them.
In an interview with the Fort Dodge Messenger on her112th birthdayin 2019, Bessie and her family credited working hard, eating sweets and staying away from doctors as her secrets for living such a long life.
Sister André.Florian Escoffier/Abaca/Sipa USA(Sipa via AP
In April,Guinness World Recordsconfirmed that a French nun named Sister André is the world’s oldest person at 118 years and 73 days old.
Sister André is theoldest living nun, third-oldest French person and third-oldest European person on record to date, said the GWR.
Born in France on February 11, 1904 as Lucile Randon, Sister André has left her mark on the world as a teacher, governess and caretaker to children amid World War II. After the war, she spent nearly three decades working with elderly people and orphans.
Sister André enjoys chocolate and sweets occasionally and drinks a glass of wine every day.
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“Her glass of wine maintains her and which is perhaps her longevity secret. I don’t know — I don’t encourage people to drink a glass of wine everyday!” said a staff member from the record breaker’s home facility per the GWR.
source: people.com
