Bessie Hendricks, the fourth-oldest person in the world, died at the age of 115. She turned 115 two months ago and celebrated her birthday in November in Lake City, west-central Iowa.
Hendricks, an American supercentenarian, was the Gerontology Research Group’s oldest confirmed surviving individual in the country at the time of her passing.
However, she was not the oldest person of American ancestry still alive, as Maria Branyas Morera of Spain is older.
At the time of her passing, Hendricks was also the fourth-oldest validated living person in the world (after Lucile Randon, Branyas Morera, and Fusa Tatsumi).
The native of Iowa experienced World Wars, the Cold War, the Korean War & the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
She started her career as a teacher before moving on to fill shells with gunpowder on an assembly line at an ordnance factory during World War II.
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How Did Bessie Hendricks Died? Death Cause And Obituary
Bessie Hendricks, a supercentenarian, passed away in Iowa after revealing that the key to a long life is hard labor on January 3, 2023.
She lived through two world wars, the Spanish Flu, 21 presidents, and the Great Depression.
On January 7, at 2:30 pm, a funeral service for Hendricks will be placed at the Lampe and Powers Funeral Home in Lake City, according to sports.yahoo.
Funeral director Dana Morris said a webcast would be accessible via the funeral home’s website, powersfh.net.
Bessie lived through two world wars, the Spanish Flu, 21 presidents, and the Great Depression (Source: Yahoo)
According to Morris, the memorial service would pay homage to Hendricks’ extraordinary life and feature readings of her late daughter’s memoirs.
Hendricks remained a resident of her own house until she was 102 years old, when she transferred to a senior living facility, where she remained until her passing, her obituary said.
When she became 110 years old five years ago, she told the Fort Dodge Messenger that “hard work” was the key to her longevity. However, one of her children also disclosed that his mother “liked her sweets.”
Also, Hendricks appreciates life so much that a care center manager told the Fort Dodge Messenger on her 101st birthday. She said, “A strong will and love of family keep Bessie going.”
Who Was Bessie Hendricks’s Husband Paul?
Paul and Bessie tied the knot at the Woodlawn Christian Church on June 27, 1930.
Paul and Bessie lived in Rands for over three years following their marriage, and the couple welcomed their children, Shirley, Joan, Roland, Glenda and Leon.
Paul and Bessie tied the knot at the Woodlawn Christian Church on June 27, 1930 (Source: Nypost)
Moving on, Hendricks and Paul first met when she went to a dance in Lohrville. It was just before she began her final year of teaching.
Bessie and her husband were just one month away from commemorating their 65th wedding anniversary when her husband passed away on May 25, 1995, according to Dailymail.
Inside Bessie Hendricks Family
Bessie was born on November 7, 1907, on a farm in Carroll County, Iowa, a few miles south of Auburn, to parents Hugh and Mattie (Clark) Sharkey.
She has older siblings, John, David, Laurence, and Ethel. After the family relocated in 1908 to a 160-acre farm in Calhoun County, two miles east and one mile north of Lake City, a younger sister, Anna, was born in 1910.
Hendricks started first grade at the nearby rural school when he was five years old because there was no kindergarten then. She assisted with household duties when she wasn’t in school.
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