At the time of her death, Bessie Hendricks, an American supercentenarian, was the Gerontology Research Group’s oldest confirmed surviving individual in the country.
She was not, however, the oldest person of American descent still alive; Maria Branyas Morera of Spain is.
Hendricks was also the fourth-oldest validated living person in the world at the time of her death (after Lucile Randon, Branyas Morera, and Fusa Tatsumi).
The Iowa native lived through World Wars, the Cold War, the Korean War, and battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.
She began her career as a teacher before working on an assembly line at an ordnance factory during WWII, filling shells with explosive.
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How Did Bessie Hendricks Pass Away? Cause Of Death And Obituary
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On January 3, 2023, Bessie Hendricks, a supercentenarian, died in Iowa after stating that the key to a long life is hard effort.
She saw two world wars, the Spanish flu, 21 presidents, and the Great Depression.
According to sports.yahoo, a funeral service for Hendricks will be held on January 7 at 2:30 p.m. at the Lampe and Powers Funeral Home in Lake City.
Dana Morris, funeral director, said a livestream will be available on the funeral home’s website, powersfh.net.
Morris said the memorial event would honor Hendricks’ amazing life and include readings from her late daughter’s memoirs.
Hendricks lived in her own home until she was 102 years old, when she moved to a senior living facility, where she resided until her death, according to her obituary.
She told the Fort Dodge Messenger that “hard work” was the key to her longevity when she turned 110 five years ago. One of her children, however, said that his mother “liked her sweets.”
Hendricks also loves life, as a care center manager informed the Fort Dodge Messenger on her 101st birthday. “A strong will and family love keep Bessie going,” she remarked.
Who Was Paul Hendricks, Bessie Hendricks’ Husband?
On June 27, 1930, Paul and Bessie married at the Woodlawn Christian Church.
Following their marriage, Paul and Bessie resided in Rands for more than three years, where they raised their children, Shirley, Joan, Roland, Glenda, and Leon.
Moving on, Hendricks and Paul met for the first time at a dance in Lohrville. It was right before her final year of teaching.
According to Dailymail, Bessie and her husband were just one month away from celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary when her husband died on May 25, 1995.
Inside the Bessie Hendricks household
Hugh and Mattie (Clark) Sharkey had Bessie on November 7, 1907, on a farm in Carroll County, Iowa, a few miles south of Auburn.
John, David, Laurence, and Ethel are her older siblings. Anna was born in 1910 after the family moved to a 160-acre farm in Calhoun County, two miles east and one mile north of Lake City, in 1908.
Because there was no kindergarten at the time, Hendricks began first grade at a nearby rural school when he was five years old. When she wasn’t at school, she helped out around the house.
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