Hester Ford, the oldest living American, has died

Hester Ford, the oldest living American, has died in North Carolina, her family said. 

Ford was either 115 or 116 years old depending on which census report was accurate. According to the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks "supercentenarians," her age was listed as 115 years and 245 days. As of July 30, she was the oldest person on record living in the U.S. Ford died Saturday after living through the 1918 influenza and COVID-19 pandemics, two world wars and the dawn of the civil rights movement. Her great-granddaughter Tanisha Patterson-Powe said in a statement obtained by CBS affiliate WBTV that her "light shined beyond her local area."