Hester Ford (nee McCardell; born August 15, 1905 — April 17, 2021) was the oldest verified living American and fourth oldest verified living person in the world. She was born on August 15, 1905 (though sources also indicate the year prior) in Lancaster, South Carolina. She grew up on a farm in Lancaster County, South Carolina. On March 12, 1921, she married steel worker John Ford and gave birth to their first child in the next year. They went on to have 12 children and sold their farm in 1953, moving to Charlotte, North Carolina. In Myers Park, Ford worked as a nanny for several families. Her husband passed away in 1963, at age 57. She continues to live in their house and has remained in the Macedonia Baptist Church for more than 70 years. According to reports, Ford had 68 grandchildren, 120 great-grandchildren, and more than 120 great-great-grandchildren.

Ford was never hospitalized before 2013 (aged 108), when she took a fall, after which numerous of her descendants joined her in her home. She was still able to walk, talk and feed herself but had suffered from hearing problems and dementia. In 2017, WBTV posted a video of Ford reciting the bible verse Psalm 23 from memory. The post gained more than 6 million views.




Following the death of supercentenarian Alelia Murphy on November 23, 2019, Ford became the oldest living American. In July 2020, she also joined the list of the twenty oldest-living Americans ever and at her death was the fourth oldest verified living people in the world. Her birthday annually gained a lot of news coverage, with the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners officially declaring September 1 as Hester Ford day in 2020.




...and that's the way you do it. Good job, Hester, R.I.P....you've earned it.