GA Native, 114, Believed To Be Oldest Living Person In US: Reports

GREENVILLE, PA — At 114 years old, a Georgia native may be the oldest living person in North America.

The Associated Press reported that Naomi Whitehead, now living in a senior living community in Greenville West Salem, Pennsylvania, was born in September 1910 on a Georgia farm. The location of the farm in Georgia is unknown.

While in Georgia, she picked cotton and tobacco, Whitehead told New Castle News in an October 2023 report. There were reportedly horses on her farm.

“I’ll live as long as the Lord lets me,’’ she told the media outlet.

Whitehead's good genes contributed to her long life, the Associated Press reported. The supercentenarian believes cooking, baking, drawing and listening to music are also factors, the news outlet reported.

Her father lived until his 90s, and she has lived longer than 12 of her siblings, the New Castle News reported.

She has also outlived her husband, Sylvester, who she married in 1930 and who died in the 1980s, New Castle News reported. Whitehead's three sons have also died.

As defined by her grandson as a "Godly woman," Whitehead was also described in the report as a "truly blessed" woman.

Whitehead succeeds Elizabeth Francis, a 115-year-old Texas woman who died on Oct. 22.