BIOGRAPHY

Juanita Elliott was born in Smithfield, North Carolina, United States on 24 December 1898. In 1915, when she was 16, she married her husband. Reportedly, her mother disapproved of the marriage, leading to Elliott eloping with her new husband. The couple settled in Portsmouth, Virginia, where she worked as a seamstress. Three years later, in 1917, she gave birth to Marian, the first of six children. At the time of her mother’s 110th birthday in 2008, she was aged 91, and was the only surviving sibling.

Combined with her husband’s career as a tailor, Elliott’s skills as a seamstress allowed for the family to always have new clothes to wear, even during the height of the Great Depression.

For the final 17 years of her life, Elliott resided in a nursing home. At the time of her 110th birthday, despite having some mobility difficulties, she would nonetheless attempt to get out of her bed or wheelchair to walk by herself, requiring the nursing staff to attach her to an alarm that would alert them whenever she attempted to stand unassisted. She was able to dress and feed herself, and took minimal medication.

Juanita Elliott passed away on 29 December 2009, aged 111 years, 5 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by Jimmy Lindberg and Stefan Maglov, and was validated by LongeviQuest on 5 June 2024.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Christmas cheer to Big Mama, on her 110th birthday” – The Virginian-Pilot, 25 December 2008

GALLERY