Texas supercentenarian Elizabeth Francis recently celebrated her 114th birthday surrounded by five generations of her family. Born in 1909, Francis says she’s been able to live to such an impressive age thanks to her healthy lifestyle, which includes having never had an alcoholic drink or smoked. "I'm very, very young,” she tells a local reporter who interviewed her about her milestone, “Look at me, I'm like a little young chicken."
Her granddaughter, Ethel Harrison, shares that Francis always grew her own vegetables and preferred home-cooked meals to fast food. "Whenever you went to her house, I don't care what day of the week, she was cooking," Harrison says, suggesting that this is part of the secret to her grandmother's longevity.
In addition to Harrison, Francis celebrated her birthday with her 94-year-old daughter Dorothy Ray Williams, plus two more grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. Williams says she’s in awe of her mother and is grateful to still have her. "It's hard to believe, but it's a blessing,” she says, “Because she has been a wonderful mother and grandmother to all of us. She has been our backbone."