BY MALAIKA JABALI
National-A Texas woman, Elizebeth Francis, celebrated her 114th birthday on July 25 and called it a “blessing” to have lived so long, she told Houston’s KTRK, an ABC news affiliate.
Francis is considered the oldest person alive in Texas and the second-oldest person in the country.
According to her 68-year-old granddaughter, Francis “always grew her vegetables in the backyard. I never saw her go to a fast food restaurant much as like Chick-fil-A and all the places I liked to go. She never did that.”
“Whenever you went to her house, I don’t care what day of the week, she was cooking. So, I just think that had a lot to do with it, too,” Harrison told KTRK. “Just how she took care of her body and things like that.”
We know health is wealth, and it could also put you in the centenarian club– a milestone only .027% of the country can claim.
Francis has lived through the births (and untimely deaths) of major historical figures, from Martin Luther King , Jr. and Malcolm X to Rosa Parks (who was only born in 1913).
According to a researcher who interviewed with the outlet, Francis is also the 7th oldest person in the world.
Among other lifestyle choices, Francis doesn’t drink or smoke. But, she says, she eats “everything.”
We’ll have what she’s having!
This article was first published in Essence
