Perhaps any birthday over the age of 99 could be considered a milestone, but it certainly isn’t every day that someone reaches their 114th birthday. Such is the case for Georgia resident, Nina Willis. She turned 114 on Saturday, according to WANF-TV.
Willis’ family is one that treats its aging members with dignity, respect and love. She has family that checks on her regularly. In addition, her sister, Piccola, is her primary caregiver. Piccola is 97. “They mean the world to me. I just love them both,” said niece Beverly Frazier. “She makes me laugh a lot, and just brings joy to my heart,” another younger relative who was unnamed told WANF. The two sisters live together, and have lived in Georgia for most of their lives. They are two of a total of 20 siblings.
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her,” Piccola said, adding that, “she’s my pride and joy. I intend to take care of her if she don’t outlive me.” Willis is believed to be Atlanta’s oldest resident, according to WAGA.
Willis may be bedridden in this season of her life, but she finds that she’s glad to be alive. She’s also very alert, and quite capable of communicating with loved ones and friends. In her younger years, before moving to Atlanta in 1947, she worked on a farm along with her siblings. Frazier said even when Willis turned 100, she was incredibly sharp. “Still reading the newspaper, no glasses, reading the newspaper, we’d be sitting here and she’d be looking out the window and see a plane up in the air, and I’m like, ‘Where?’” Fraizer said. When Picola was asked what the secret was to the longevity she and her sister shared, she said, “Doing the right thing. Treating people right.” The family added that a part of that longevity is also their love for each other.
They’re just loving and caring people who love each other and love God,” Frazier told WAGA. The oldest living person in the world on record, until this week, was Lucile Randon of France, according to Guinness World Records. She was 118 years and 340 days old when she passed away Tuesday.
