Bessie Hendricks, the oldest living person in the United States of America, marked another milestone in her life as she ringed her 115th birthday on November 7. Mrs Hendricks celebrated her 115th birthday with a party at her care center in Iowa, surrounded by all of her surviving children. A special cake was ordered for the occasion as members of her family sang her favourite song, ''You Are My Sunshine''.
Pictures of the birthday celebration were also shared on a Twitter page called Supercentenarios. One of the pictures showed her sitting in front of the gigantic cake, while another picture showcased portraits and photographs of her, taken over the years.
See the pictures here:
Born in 1907, Mrs Hendricks is a witness to many significant world events. According to a CNN report, Bessie Hendricks has lived through 21 presidents, two world wars, a depression, the sinking of the Titanic and two Chicago Cubs World Series championships. A former schoolteacher, Mrs Hendricks is also the fourth oldest living person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which records and certifies supercentenarians, as reported by New York Post.
When asked about her secret to a long life, Mrs Hendricks had simply said, ''Work hard,'' on her 110th birthday. Hendricks' children described her as a hard-working, caring mother. Notably, Mrs Hendricks' own mother died when she was just 13 years old, which left her to take of her own siblings, ABC affiliate KCCI reported. Her husband Paul died in 1995, a month before celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary.
Her son Leon Hendricks described her as ''someone who always cared about her family'' and for whom ''family came first.'' Interestingly, her eldest daughter, Joan, celebrated her 90th birthday the day before.
Mrs Hendricks became the oldest woman in the US earlier this year when Thelma Sutcliffe, aged 115 years and 108 days old died. The world record for the oldest person alive is currently held by Lucile Randon who is 118 years old and lives in France.
