Melva Radcliffe

Melva Radcliffe (née Cadmus), born March 3, 1901, is an American supercentenarian. At 110, she is currently the oldest living resident of New Jersey. The record for New Jersey's oldest person is held by 112-year-old Alphaeus Philemon Cole.

Biography

Radcliffe was born Melva Mae Cadmus on March 3, 1901, in Paterson, New Jersey. After graduating from school at the age of 15, she entered into the teaching program at the Paterson Normal School, which is now William Paterson University. Two years later, she started to teach at Public School 13 in Paterson. At that time her salary was $600 a year. She was a teacher of Art and Music for 44 years.^[1]

During the Great Depression, she had to pool her salary with her brother-in-law to care for their family. It was only after her retirement that she met and married her first husband, James Radcliffe, at the age of 70. James died only seven years into the marriage. Shortly after, she married James' brother Hartley Radcliffe. Hartley died at the age of 90 in 1997.

She had no children from either marriage. Radcliffe moved into an assisted living facility at 106. She attributes her longevity to her heritage. She had two sisters who lived to 100, and a brother who made it to 90. She has glasses of whiskey daily, and used to walk to and from work every day. Her attitude has been described as vibrant and humorous. Radcliffe has survived colon cancer and two broken hips, and her hearing and eyesight are almost gone. She uses a wheelchair, but can walk short distances.^[2]

References

1. ^ http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/03/nj_oldest_resident_celebrates.html/
2. ^ http://nicole-russo.com/melvaradcliffe1901.html/

Persondata
Name	Radcliffe, Melva
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Date of birth	1901
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