Woman with 200 great-grandchildren celebrates 116th birthday

The oldest living American has celebrated her 116th birthday with a drive-thru party.

Hester Ford, from Charlotte, North Carolina, was wheeled out to the door of her home where she was greeted by friends, family and her community.

She marked the event with a drive-thru birthday party on Thursday ahead of her actual birthday, which fell on Saturday.

People were asked to leave gifts at the end of the driveway, where they would later be collected and safely introduced to the house.

According to WBTV, when asked what gifts she wanted for her birthday, Ford replied: "Anything that anybody will give me."

The mother-of-12 has 48 grandchildren and 200 great-grandchildren.

According to her family, US Census Bureau documents indicate she was born in 1905, but then another set of Census Bureau documents say she was born in 1904, CBS News reports.

She married her husband John Ford when she was 14, in 1918.

John died aged 57 in 1963, meaning she has survived him for 57 years and has lived twice as long as him.

She became the US's oldest resident after the last title holder, New Yorker Alelia Murphy died at 115 years old in November 2019, according to Mail Online.

Ford told her granddaughter, Mary Hill, that she doesn't know the secret to her longevity, according to WBTV.

"I just live right, all I know," Ford said. 

Now Hill, an ordained minister, gives the communion to Hester at home, according to WBTV.

"We just thank God for just keeping her here for us, because it gives us hope," Hill said.

"We would never want her to be here if she was sick...

"We want her to have a great quality of life in her elder years. We don't want her to be sick or anything, and trying to hold on."

As of today, the oldest known living person is Kane Tanaka of Japan, aged 117.

The oldest person ever was Jeanne Calment, from France, who lived to see 122 and 164 days and died on August 4, 1997.