Happy 110th!

West Memphis woman celebrates milestone birthday

news@theeveningtimes.com On Monday, Mayor Marco McClendon visited with West Memphis’s oldest living resident as she celebrated her birthday.

While it’s not something McClendon makes a havit of doing for his constituents, this was was a special one — her 110th!

To mark the occasion, the mayor also declared August 15th 2022 as “Mrs. Leola Porter Day” in the city.

Mrs. Porter, who was born in 1912 is not only the oldest living resident in West Memphis but also the entire state of Arkansas.

With her age she joins a list of long-lived people known as “supercentarians”.

Supercentenarians are citizens or residents of the United States who have attained or surpassed 110 years of age. As of January 2015, the Gerontology Research Group had validated the longevity claims of 782 American supercentenarians and as of Aug. 15, 2022, it lists the oldest living American-born person as Spanish emigrant María Brañas Morera (born in San Francisco, California on March 4, 1907), aged 115 years.

The oldest American resident is listed as Bessie Hendricks (born in Carroll County, Iowa on November 7, 1907), aged 114 years.

The longest-lived person ever from the United States is Sarah Knauss, of Hollywood, Pennsylvania, who died on December 30, 1999, aged 119 years.

Mrs. Porter has survived two world wars, a global pandemic, 20 presidents and the Great Depression.

Photo courtesy of the City of West Memphis