Nebraska Woman Becomes United States' Oldest Living Person At Age 114

May 05, 2021 by apost team

A 114-year-old woman from Nebraska is now the oldest person in the United States. Thelma Sutcliffe from Omaha, Nebraska, made headlines when she continued to celebrate birthday after birthday for an incredible amount of years. Although Sutcliffe did not attain the milestone with her recent birthday, she still holds the title of being the oldest person in the nation.

Only a few other people have been able to classify themselves as supercentenarians, as the rare achievement is usually only accomplished by about one in 1000 centenarians, according to “Supercentenarians.” The difference is that centenarians are individuals who have lived to be 100 or older, whereas supercentenarians have lived to be 110 or older.

Sutcliffe was born on Oct. 1, 1906. The supercentarian’s age has been validated by the Gerontology Research Group, an information center that tracks the world’s oldest living humans. She has experienced many events and historical moments throughout her lifetime, with the most recent being the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Typically as people age they start to lose a bit of their spunk and sharpness, but this has not been the case with Sutcliffe. She has continued to make friends while residing in a senior living center, and even has some who make the occasional trip to visit her. Sutcliffe still has her humor and wisdom, as she has continued to make headlines with her unbelievable landmark birthdays.

Although Sutcliffe is currently the oldest living person in the United States, she is not the only supercentenarian that has passed the rare achievement and has been featured in local news outlets. 

Nellie Harris from New Brunswick, Canada, lived to see her 110th birthday. According to Gerontology, the sweet woman is survived by her four children. Five generations descended from Harris, with most of her immediate family living all across North America, according to CTV. 

The family visited Harris for her milestone birthday while she was living at a nursing home in Tabusintac in New Brunswick. Some even made the long journey all the way from Arizona in the United States. Harris faced incredible odds of living on her own until she was 101-years-old, and strongly battled cancer three times.

According to CTV, Harris kept up with a sensible diet and a stress-free lifestyle, which Harris attributed to the success of her health. Despite her age, she also maintained her invigorous energy and attitude. Lori Falter, Harris’ granddaughter, talked about how her grandmother exhibited a great sense of humor and personality. “When you ask her certain questions, she actually rolls her eyes and makes a noise,” she said and demonstrated the gestures. “We generationally have picked that up.”

According to the Associated Press, Sutcliffe became the oldest living person in the nation and the seventh-oldest person in the world on April 17, 2021, after another 115-year-old woman died in North Carolina. The woman, Hester Ford, is survived by her 12 children, 48 grandchildren, 108 great-grandchildren and an astonishing 120 great-great-grandchildren, according to TODAY. She lived in the same home for over 58 years and lived through a great deal of history. 

Although the senior living facility where Sutcliffe lives is currently considered to be locked down, she has stayed hopeful. 

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According to the Associated Press, her friend, Luella “Lou” Mason, said, “Thelma is as determined as ever to do what she wants to do.” The women are incredibly close and trust one another immensely, as Mason even holds Sutcliffe’s power of attorney.

Even though visitors are allowed in the dining room at the senior living center, Sutcliffe takes her meals to her room, according to the Associated Press. Mason typically calls the center with about a day’s notice to schedule her visits to see her friend. “She asks me every time I visit, ‘are you going to eat with me today?’” Mason said. “It breaks my heart that I can’t.”

Sutcliffe has passed an amazing milestone of living to be 114-years-old. Although she has encountered a few issues, such as a fading sense of hearing and sight, her mind and attitude have stayed in fantastic shape. In fact, she has been called “very sharp” by her friend, Mason.

The elderly woman has been doing her best to stay safe during the ongoing pandemic, but has definitely had her disputes. “You’re not going to be sticking that thing up my nose,” Mason said that Sutcliffe had announced that after seeing the cotton swab used for COVID-19 testing. She finished the sentiment, and said, “you can tell Lou to stick it up hers.” Despite this, Sutcliffe went along and got vaccinated at the earliest opportunity to help fight the virus.

Sutcliffe has passed an incredible lifetime landmark, and has continued to showcase her fun personality and humor along the way. While she has lived through a great amount of history, she has made history herself with such an achievement.

What did you think of this unbelievable story? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family and friends.