Alelia Murphy, NYC resident and oldest American, dies at 114
Alelia Murphy, a longtime Harlem resident, has died. (Courtesy of 1199 SEIU)
NEW YORK - Alelia Murphy, believed to have been the oldest person in the United States, has died. She was 114.
Born on July 6, 1905, in North Carolina, Murphy died Saturday with her family by her side in Harlem, where she had lived for many years, according to 1199 SEIU.
In July, 1199 SEIU, a health care workers union, helped organize Murphy's 114th birthday party, which FOX 5 NY attended.
Her daughter, Rose Green, a retired 1199 SEIU member, called her mother "A gift from God."
Murphy raised Green and another child by herself after her husband died young.
Until her death, Murphy had been the fifth-oldest living person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group. Kane Tanaka, 116, of Japan, is the world's oldest living person.
Murphy's funeral will be held on Dec. 6, 2019, at the United House of Prayer for All People in Harlem.
Revisit Murphy's 114th birthday party.
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