Hester Ford, the oldest living American, died at the age of 116 surrounded by her loved ones in her Charlotte home of over 58 years.

According to a report from NBC affiliate WXII North Carolina, Ford was born on August 15, 1904, in Lancaster, South Carolina. She lived through countless historical events, including the 1918 flu pandemic.

Ford worked on a farm where she not only planted and picked cotton but plowed the field and cut wood.

In a statement to NBC Charlotte affiliate WCNC, her family added that she moved to Charlotte in 1953 and worked as a nanny for more than 20 years.

“Her light shined beyond her local area and she lived beyond a century with memories containing real-life experience of over 100 years,” the statement said. “She not only represented the advancement of our family but of the Black African American race and culture in our country. She was a reminder of how far we have come as people on this earth.”

Mecklenburg County proclaimed September 1 as “Mother Hester McCardell Ford Day.”

According to WCNC, Ford’s great-granddaughter Tanisha Patterson-Powe expressed that even though this was a sad moment the family takes pride in all of her accomplishments.

Ford had 12 children, 48 grandchildren, 108 great-grandchildren and approximately 120 great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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