Oldest person in the US, Elizabeth Francis, dies at 115 years old in Houston
Elizabeth Francis, the oldest person in the U.S., died peacefully at the age of 115 on Tuesday.
Francis was the third-oldest person in the world at the time of her death, according to LongeviQuest, a database on the world’s oldest people.
“Ms. Elizabeth was a Houstonian icon and a cherished member of the community,” a news release from the database said.
Francis was born on July 25, 1909, and lived through 20 US Presidents, with her first being former President William Howard Taft.
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Francis was the third-oldest person in the world at the time of her death. She lived most of her life in Houston. (Ethel Harrison)
While born in Louisiana, Francis was a long-time Houston, Texas resident. She lived with her 95-year-old daughter, Dorothy Williams, and her granddaughter, Ethel Harrison.
Francis first moved to Houston after her mother died when she was 11, and she and her five siblings were sent to different homes. She was raised by her aunt and has lived there since.
She never drove a car, but she worked outside the home, running the coffee shop at a TV station in Houston during the 1970s and 80s.
Ben Myers (pictured far right) of LongeviQuest, a global research organization that tracks human longevity, gathers with Elizabeth Francis’ family members and presents her award as the oldest living American in the U.S. (Ethel Harrison)
Ben Meyers, the CEO of LongeviQuest, previously told Fox News Digital that Francis was sustained by her family and her community.
“One thing that she really is an example of more than almost anybody else I’ve met is just family and community,” he said.
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Francis previously attributed her long life to her faith. (Ethel Harrison)
Francis attended the same church for years and was an active member.
“She lives at home, and she’s the oldest person in the world to live at home. It’s really pretty extraordinary. Also, the community that she has through her church. So there [are] really active families and communities. It’s very difficult for people to reach that age in isolation,” Meyers added.
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Francis has three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
Fox News Digital’s Gretchen Eichenberg contributed to this report.
