Pennsylvania resident Naomi Whitehead, 114, was recently crowned the oldest living American.
Whitehead was born on Sept. 26, 1910 in Georgia. She earned the title as the oldest living person in America following the death of 115-year-old Elizabeth Francis last month.
Whitehead grew up on a farm, and "picked cotton and tobacco," she told New Castle News last year.
Though regular exercise wasn't ever important to Whitehead, her daily strenuous physical activity was "plowing in the field," she told YouTuber Jack Gordon in an interview.
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Committing to a faith-based practice likely helped Whitehead stay hopeful during tumultuous times in history.
"If you didn't go to church, you didn't go no place else," she said.
Whitehead's responses to Gordon's questions were typically just a few words, but she was still able to recite an extended bible verse at age 114.
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At the time he'd written an article for CNBC Make It in 2023, longevity researcher Dan Buettner had interviewed over 200 centenarians. Of those super-agers, only five didn't belong to a faith-based community.
Whitehead's advice for people who are looking to live a long life is simple: "hard work."
She also never drank alcohol or smoked cigarettes, and said she mostly eats healthy. Whitehead credited "her longevity to good genes and enjoying various activities such as cooking, baking, drawing and listening to music," according to AP News.
Whitehead lived longer than her husband and her three sons, and has a dozen grandchildren. She decided not to remarry after her husband, Sylvester Whitehead, passed five decades after they married.
"I said if I loved him, I would never get married again," Whitehead told New Castle News.
Whitehead doesn't have an age in mind that she wants to live to, but said "I'll live as long as the Lord lets me."
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