America's oldest woman who lived through two World Wars and a global pandemic has died at the age of 115.
Bessie Hendricks, born November 7, 1907 in Carroll County, Maryland, was said to be the oldest person living in the US when she passed away at Shady Oaks Care Centre in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.
Hendricks celebrated her 115th birthday at the home on Nov. 7 and was listed last year by the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group as the country's oldest living person until her death.
The former teacher, who taught in Calhoun County before she married and started a family, went onto have five children nine grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and 42 great-great-grandchildren.
She saw 21 presidents, two world wars, the Great Depression, both the Spanish flu and Covid-19 pandemic and the sinking of the Titanic during her astonishing life.
Bessie was also the fourth oldest person in the world with the accolade belonging to Lucile Randon, a 118-year old French nun.
When the great-great-mother turned 110 in 2017 she revealed the secret to her long-life was "work hard, stay away from doctors, and make sure to enjoy sweets, like a piece of pie or slice of birthday cake."
Bessie's passion was crocheting which she continued well into her 100s and she was also a huge fan of Iowa Hawkeyes.
And during her 112 birthday she wowed the crowed with a verse from her beloved song "You Are My Sunshine", which was written when she was 32.
She is survived by three of her children. A funeral service for Hendricks will be held at Lampe & Powers Funeral Home on Saturday.
Dina Manfredini became the oldest person in the US and the world at the age of 115 after she passed away in her sleep in 2012.
She was born on April 4, 1897 in Pievepelago, Italy and moved to Des Moines, Idaho with her husband in 1920.
Diano was a keen gardener and became a house wife who stayed at home to raise her children and took up her first job cleaning houses at the age of 90.
Remarkably, she was living on her own until the age of 110 before eventually moving into a nursing home.
She said the key to her long life was “hard work and everything in moderation.”
Following Dina and Bessie's death it means Edie Ceccarelli, from California, is now the oldest living American as she is set to turn 115 on February 5, according to the Gerontology Research Group in Los Angeles.
