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Carma Drury

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Carma Drury
Carma Drury
Birth: 9 December 1911
Christian County, Missouri, USA
Death: 26 August 2021
Gainesville, Florida, USA
Age: 109 years, 260 days
Country: United StatesUSA
Centenarian

Carma Drury (9 December 1911 – 26 August 2021) was an American centenarian who was one of the oldest known living men in the USA at the time of his death.

Biography[]

Carma Drury and his twin sister Cuma Schofield (1911–2012) were born on 9 December 1911 (claimed 5 December) in a farmhouse near Ozark, Missouri, USA that had neither electricity or running water. Carma and Cuma' parents were Clayton Drury and Lilly May Drury. Carma and Cuma had three silbings: the twins Melton Drury, who died as an infant, and Mildred Gleichweit and James Drury, who died as young.

The first time that Drury rode in a car was in 1920 when his family moved to Clovis, California. Drury was the first in his family to graduate from college (Fresno State College) and in 1936 he married a fellow Fresno State graduate, Alice Iantha Zollinger. The couple had three sons: Stanley (born 1941), Kenneth (born 1945), and Keith (1948–2014).

His paternal grandfather Frank Drury (1852–1953) was the Grand Marshal of the Clovis Day Parade, riding his horse Roney at the age of 99 years. He died at the age of 100 years and was known as the Grand Old Man of Clovis.

They made their home in near by Madera, where Drury was able to get one of the few jobs available during the depression with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. He began by digging trenches for gas lines. He worked as a gas mechanic for over 40 years until he retired in 1977. In 1968, he moved to Merced, California where he was the head of the gas utility section for PG&E.

His wife Alice died of cancer in December 1980. Drury remarried Elizabeth "Betty" Hamilton in Merced, California, USA on 10 July 1983. In retirement he stayed active, building grandfather clocks for his sons and family. In 2011, he and his twin sister Cuma celebrated their 100th birthday together.

Drury continued building and repairing things until he was well over 106 years old. At the age of 106, he moved to live with his son Kenneth and his wife Sandra in Gainesville, Florida. He participated in The Centenarian Study at the University of Florida. His wife Elizabeth died in March 2018 at the age of 98.

There was also a history of longevity in his family: his paternal grandfather Frank Drury (1852–1953) lived to be 100, maternal aunt Betty Maberry (1890–1982) lived to be 91, sister Mildred Gleichweit (1906–2003) lived to be 96, and twin sister Cuma Schofield (1911–2012) lived to be 100.

Carma Drury died in Gainesville, Florida, USA on 26 August 2021 at the age of 109 years, 260 days (claimed 109 years, 264 days). He was survived by two sons Stanley and Kenneth; three daughters-in-law Donna, Sandra and Carolene; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Trivia[]

  • The exact date was under dispute. As it happened, it was a dark and stormy night when the traveling country doctor showed up to deliver both Carma and his twin sister Cuma. Subsequently, after a number of days of taking care of other patients, the doctor returned to his office to fill out the birth certificates. They were registered on 9 December 1911 whereas, Carma and Cuma’s mother told them it was the 5th of December. After many years of celebrating birthdays on the 5th they had to acknowledge, due to the birth certificate, it was the 9th. Ever since they began celebrating on the 5th and continued until the 9th.

Gallery[]

References[]

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