Ruby Lee Drakeford, 112; The World’s 10th-Oldest Person
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Ruby Lee Markham Drakeford, 112, a retired schoolteacher who was the oldest person in North Carolina and the 10th-oldest person in the world, died Wednesday in Durham, N.C., of causes associated with aging, said Dr. L. Stephen Coles, co-founder of the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group. Coles’ organization tracks “Supercentenarians,” or people 110 and older.
The Durham native had lived in the city’s Hillcrest Convalescent Center since 1991, when she injured her back in a fall at her home. She had been unable to talk for two years but still recognized visitors and watched “Jeopardy” on television.
Born Jan. 25, 1892, the former Ruby Markham graduated in 1912 from Trinity College, now Duke University, and had been the school’s oldest graduate.
She taught elementary classes near Goldsboro, N.C., for one year and in Durham for 44, retiring in 1957. Her husband, William White Drakeford, died in 1956. The childless widow spent her retirement years reading, playing cards, solving puzzles and watching television.
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