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Elizabeth Francis, whose age was validated at 115 years and 89 days, died in Houston on October 22, 2024. She was the oldest living person in the United States when she died and the world’s third-oldest living person, according to longevity organizations. Those are rankings from October 2024, not current ones.
How old was Elizabeth Francis when she died?
Francis was 115 years and 89 days old. The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) records her birth on July 25, 1909, in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, and her death on October 22, 2024, in Houston, Texas. The GRG says Robert Young and Waclaw Jan Kroczek verified her age and that the group validated it on January 16, 2023. People who reach 110 are known as supercentenarians, according to the GRG.
What did “oldest living person in the U.S.” mean?
Francis held the title of the oldest living person in the United States at the time of her death. She became the oldest living American after Edie Ceccarelli died on February 22, 2024, and was still in that position at her 115th birthday that July. LongeviQuest also placed her as the third-oldest living person worldwide when she died. Its rankings describe her as the 54th-oldest person ever recorded and the 21st-oldest American ever; those historical placements are LongeviQuest’s, rather than universal rankings.
Francis’s death changed who held the living-person distinction. On October 30, 2024, the Associated Press reported that Pennsylvania resident Naomi Whitehead was then believed to be the oldest living person in North America. That later report underscores why Francis’s title should be dated to her lifetime rather than presented as current.
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Her life in Louisiana and Houston
Francis was born to John and Virginia (née Matthews) Francis. She moved to Texas in the 1920s and spent most of her life in Houston. The GRG says she initially lived with an older sister; the Houston Chronicle reports that she moved to Houston shortly after her mother died in 1920.
For more than 20 years, Francis ran the coffee shop at Houston television station ABC13, according to the Chronicle. She retired in 1975. Her life in Houston was also centered on family: LongeviQuest reports that she lived with her daughter, Dorothy Williams, and that her granddaughter, Ethel Harrison, was her primary caregiver.
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Family memories and her words
Harrison told ABC News that Francis died peacefully, surrounded by family, and remembered her as “a person who loved people.” Harrison also recalled Francis’s guiding principle: “And she would always say, treat people like you want to be treated. And that was her motto,”
In advice quoted by LongeviQuest and dated to April 2023, Francis said: “If the Good Lord gave it to you, use it. Speak your mind, don’t hold your tongue.”
What is known about her longevity?
ABC News reported that Francis said she did not drink or smoke and ate “everything.” The Chronicle also reported that relatives associated avoiding smoking and alcohol with her longevity. Those are personal and family accounts, not medical evidence that any particular habit caused her to live to 115. The sources cited here do not establish a cause of death or a medical explanation for her lifespan.
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