Houston is home to the oldest person in the United States.
Elizabeth Francis, 114, earned the distinction after the Feb. 22 death of California resident Edie Ceccarelli, who was 116, according to LongeviQuest, an international organization that chronicles what it calls "maximum human longevity."
Francis is now the fifth-oldest person in the world, according to both LongeviQuest and the Gerontology Research Group.
"Ms. Elizabeth Francis is admired around the world, both for her longevity and her approach to life," Ben Meyers, the CEO of LongeviQuest, said in a news release. "Reaching this milestone was never an aspiration for her, merely a byproduct of how she lived her life every day, doing right by her loved ones and by God. We can all learn from her example."
Francis, who was born in Louisiana in 1909, is less than 2 years younger than the oldest human on Earth. That is 116-year-old Maria Branyas Morera of Spain, according to both LongeviQuest and the Gerontology Research Group.
Japan's Tomiko Itooka and Brazil's Inah Canabarro Lucas, both 115-year-old women, are second and third, respectively, in the global age rankings. Juan Vicente Perez Mora, a 114-year-old from Venezuela, is fourth and holds the distinction of being the world's oldest man.
Francis, of Houston, had a sister who lived to age 106 before her death in 2011, according to LongeviQuest, which said Francis lives with her 94-year-old daughter, Dorothy Williams, and is cared for by her 68-year-old granddaughter, Ethel Harrison.
Meyers visited Francis in July to celebrate her 114th birthday, presenting her with a Texas-shaped plaque for being the oldest living person in the state. At the time, according to LongeviQuest, Francis said one of her secrets to living a long life was expressing herself freely.
"If the good Lord gave it to you, use it," Francis said, according to LongeviQuest. "Speak your mind. Don't hold your tongue."
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