HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BESSIE
Happy Birthday Bessie! Lake City resident Bessie Hendricks celebrates her 115 birthday with a big cake to share. [Photo courtesy of Shady Oaks Care Center]
Hendricks turns 115, is now the fourth oldest person in the world
By Karl Jones
Did you know that Calhoun County is where the fourth oldest person in the world calls home?
Bessie Hendricks turned 115 this past Monday, and is currently is living at Shady Oaks in Lake City.
To put it in perspective, Hendricks is currently the fourth oldest person in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. She is the oldest Iowan, and the oldest American still residing in the country.
While Hendricks may no longer be able to speak, she is still aware of her surroundings. When her children, Joan Schaffer and Leon Hendricks sing to her, they say that she seems to want to join in.
“We were visiting her the other day and started singing ‘You Are My Sunshine’ to her,” said Schaffer. “She recognized the song and started bobbing her head and moving her lips like she wanted to join. Bessie loved music.”
Born on a farm southeast of Auburn as Bessie Laurena Sharkey, she had always called this part of Iowa home. At the age of five, Bessie attended first grade at the country school located across the road from her family’s farm.
When she entered seventh grade, Bessie attended Central School in Lake City. After the passing of her mother at the age of 13, Bessie balanced household responsibilities with her education.
Bessie graduated from Lake City High School in May of 1926, and later completed her normal training course that allowed her to teach country school. Later that same year, Bessie taught country school in the Lake City area for four years.
Even years later, her students remembered her.
“One of her students was walking down the street one day,” said Schaffer. “He saw Hendricks and said ‘that’s my teacher.’ He had graduated years earlier.”
Before she started her last year of teaching, Hendricks attended a dance in Lohrville, where she met Paul Hendricks. The two then married on June 27, 1930 at Woodlawn Christian Church in Lake City.
Bessie and Paul lived in Rands for nearly three years, where Paul worked at the grain elevator and depot, while operating a small general store. In 1933, the two moved to a farm east of Lake City, and would go on to live there for the next 47 years.
After teaching, Hendricks focused on her family. Always remaining active, she enjoyed cooking, sewing and music.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better mother-in-law,” said Judy Hendricks, Leon’s wife. “One time, before we were married, I went to find a stove. Bessie offered to come with me and I said ‘sure, why not?’”
“When we got there, I found a stove that I liked,” continued Judy. “I was willing to pay full price for it, but Bessie told me to never tell the salesman that and I would get it for less. She was always there for me.”
After both retired and held their farm sale in 1979, they moved into Lake City. Sadly, Bessie and Paul were one month shy of celebrating their 65th anniversary, when Paul passed on May 25, 1995.
Bessie continued to be involved in church, and in 2016, attended the all-school reunion in Lake City.
In recent years, Bessie has captured the hearts and minds of many. She did so with a YouTube video, featuring Bessie singing “You Are My Sunshine,” which went viral on the platform.
Bessie was also prominent in various news articles, and was featured by morning shows “TODAY” and “Good Morning America.” Even on social media, many people have wished Bessie a “happy birthday” this past Monday.
Shady Oaks celebrated the occasion with Bessie’s family and friends, while Bessie was given cake, alongside many flowers, gifts and cards. The care facility also shared the party on Facebook.
“You are amazing, Bessie, and we all love you,” the post said.
Right now, Bessie has nine grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren, 42 great-great-grand children and seven great-great-great grandchildren.
Times may have changed since then, but Hendricks is still here with us.
“When asked about how she has lived so long, she said, ‘never see a doctor.’” said Schaffer. “To this day, she is taking hardly any meds. Another key is to stay active. ‘Never see a doctor, and stay active,’ that’s what she said.”
Even in her old age, Bessie stayed as active as she could. She even went on many bus tours across the United States.
“(Bessie) is claustrophobic,” said Schaffer. “However, the buses always reserved a seat for her up front. It helped a lot, and allowed her to see all sorts of places across the country.”
However, in all her travels, there is one place Hendricks never made it to.
“Due to her claustrophobia, she never made it to Ireland,” said Schaffer. “She is from Ireland and always wanted to visit, but she couldn’t fly.”
Despite this, Hendricks has accomplished a lot in her 115 years. Being active in the church, she helped by participating in several community service projects throughout the years.
One of the bigger projects that she worked on was the Music Mother’s cookbook. The community cookbook contains some of her recipes.
After 115 years, Hendricks is still doing well. Even if she has her good days, and bad days.
However, she is still alive and well. At the moment, it appears that Hendricks will keep on going.
Happy Birthday, Bessie Hendricks. Congratulations on turning 115 years young.
Tyler Anderson, Managing Editor of the Calhoun County Phoenix, contributed to this report.