Alelia Murphy who was believed to be America’s oldest person dies at 114

Alelia Murphy – the woman – believed to be the oldest person in the U.S. has died. She was 114.

Murphy died on Saturday. 

“It is with great sadness that we share news of the passing of Mrs. Aleila Murphy,” a healthcare group where her daughter Rose worked tweeted.  

“Mrs. Murphy was the oldest living American, having celebrated her 114th birthday in July, surrounded by her family, friends, community leaders, & members of our AFRAM Caucus.”

The group, however, didn’t release Murphy’s official cause of death.

Described as spirited, Murphy was born in North Carolina in 1905, around the time Albert Einstein proposed his Theory of Relativity, The New York Post reported. Widowed with two children, she had made Harlem home since the 1920s.

During the celebration of her 114 birthday, Murphy was reported to have decreed “Oh Lord!” before dosing off in her wheelchair. 

“She just told me she lives this long because she believes in God and she believes in taking good care of people,” her visiting nurse, Natalie Mhlambiso, told The Post then.

Murphy never drank alcohol and grew up “down South where she used to eat homegrown food,” the nurse added.

In January, Murphy became the oldest living American after Lessie Brown died in Ohio at the age of 114. The oldest person in the world is Kane Tanaka of Japan, who is 116.

According to The Charlotte Observer, the oldest person in America now appears to be Hester Ford, a 114-year-old great-grandmother who was born in South Carolina in August 1905. 

Murphy’s funeral will be held on December 6 at the United House of Prayer for All People in Harlem.

Murphy’s passing comes hours after it was revealed that 112-year-old CP Crawford, who was believed to be America’s oldest man had passed away in his bed at a Chicago nursing home.

CP, who was born in 1907 in Mississippi, said the secret to longevity was “minding your own business”.

CP’s son, Shawn Doston, announced the death of his father on Facebook, calling him “one of the greatest men whom God has put on this earth”.

“He was calm, cool and collected. He was a hard worker and was always very respectful of his family and my mother,” he told The Chicago Sun-Times.

He added: “People would always ask him what the secret was to his longevity, and he would say first put God before anything, eat right and mind your own business.”