Donn
02-26-2003, 07:56 AM
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Born when the horse and buggy was king, the oldest man in America, John McMorran of Lakeland, Florida, died of heart failure Monday at the age of 113.
McMorran was the second-oldest person in the United States, just seven days younger than the oldest living American, Mary Christian of San Pablo, California, who was born June 12, 1889.
He was also the fourth-oldest person in the world, trailing a Japanese woman, 115-year-old Kamato Hongo, who continues to hold the top spot.
As reported in The Ledger of Lakeland, McMorran had no secret to his extreme longevity other than being "well put together," according to great-granddaughter Lisa Saxton, 35. "He smoked cigars, drank beer and ate greasy food (much of his life)," she told The Ledger. "He was an amazing man."
McMorran only gave up cigars relatively recently, at 97.
The Michigan native was born into a rural farming family on June 19, 1889. Too old to be drafted into the army during World War I, McMorran plied various trades, working at a Detroit munitions factory during the war, then as a milkman and later as a mailman. He retired at 84, moving to Lakeland in 1990.
According to friends and relatives, McMorran enjoyed good health until just last week.
"He was never sick. He lived a great life," Saxton said.
McMorran was the second-oldest person in the United States, just seven days younger than the oldest living American, Mary Christian of San Pablo, California, who was born June 12, 1889.
He was also the fourth-oldest person in the world, trailing a Japanese woman, 115-year-old Kamato Hongo, who continues to hold the top spot.
As reported in The Ledger of Lakeland, McMorran had no secret to his extreme longevity other than being "well put together," according to great-granddaughter Lisa Saxton, 35. "He smoked cigars, drank beer and ate greasy food (much of his life)," she told The Ledger. "He was an amazing man."
McMorran only gave up cigars relatively recently, at 97.
The Michigan native was born into a rural farming family on June 19, 1889. Too old to be drafted into the army during World War I, McMorran plied various trades, working at a Detroit munitions factory during the war, then as a milkman and later as a mailman. He retired at 84, moving to Lakeland in 1990.
According to friends and relatives, McMorran enjoyed good health until just last week.
"He was never sick. He lived a great life," Saxton said.