BIOGRAPHY

Sholar was born in Sumter, South Carolina, USA, on 9 August 1905, to parents Josiah W. Brunson (1873–1957) and Armida Davis Moses (1875–1928). She had at least two siblings: Ansley Brunson (1902–1981) and Nell Marjenhoff (1908–2003).

In the early 1920s, in her late teens, she fell in love and eloped to get married, only to be arrested after her father reported her to the police. He believed she was too young to be married. Despite this, in 1922, she married Henry Wiley Sholar. The couple had four children: Michael Brunson Sholar, Henry Wiley Sholar, Martha Jenkins, and Bill Sholar. She worked as a desk clerk at Wesley Long Hospital in Greensboro. Her husband died of a heart attack in 1949.

Sholar was a member of Starmount Presbyterian and Westminster Presbyterian Churches. She moved to the WhiteStone independent apartments in 1978, where she volunteered to tend to the rose and flower gardens. Following a hip fracture, she spent 17 years in the Care Center. One of her hobbies was playing bingo, and she rarely missed playing three times each week. She had cancer twice. She smoked until the age of 103, only deciding to quit after a fall resulted in a broken hip. Despite this, she occasionally indulged in smoking until 2013 when her retirement community implemented a smoking ban on the premises. At the age of 109, she had trouble hearing and seeing, but she was still lucid.

Sholar passed away in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, on 4 April 2017, at the age of 111 years, 238 days. She was survived by her son Bill, 12 grandchildren, as well as numerous great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

On 19 November 2016, following the death of 111-year-old Ruby Clodfelter, she became the oldest known living resident of North Carolina.

Following her death, Hester Ford (who was only six days younger) succeeded her as North Carolina’s oldest living resident.

Her age was verified by Fabrizio Villatoro, and validated by LongeviQuest on 8 November 2023.

ATTRIBUTION

* “J. W. Brunson” – Find A Grave

* “No worries: Greensboro woman celebrates 109th” – Greensboro News and Record, 10 August 2014

* “Armida Sholar Obituary” – Greensboro News & Record, 17 April 2017

GALLERY