Melissa Traylor | |
Birth: | 6 February 1906 Mina, New York, USA |
Death: | 18 August 2017 North East, Pennsylvania |
Age: | 111 years, 193 days |
Country: | USA |
Validated |
Melissa Traylor (née Stetson; 6 February 1906 – 18 August 2017) was an American supercentenarian whose age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG).
Biography[]
Melissa Traylor was born on a farm in Mina, New York, close to the Pennsylvania border on 6 February 1906 to Thomas and Bessie (née Cummings) Stetson. The original farmhouse had a sod-covered roof, and Melissa helped her father build the new house by digging out the basement with one of her sisters.
Traylor met her first husband at a square dance when she was 18 years old. The couple married and moved to Detroit, but divorced just a couple of months later. She remained in Detroit, attending beautician school and becoming a hairdresser. She later met Hoy Traylor at the Pier Ballroom and the couple married in 1927. Melissa worked as a hairdresser in Detroit for about 30 years.
The couple, who never had children, retired in the 1960s and moved to Florida. Her second husband passed away in 1975. Melissa continued to live in Florida with her two sisters until 2006, after they both died. She move to Erie County, Pennsylvania, where her brother and many nieces and nephews lived. She moved into Parkside, though she moved out for a while and lived with her brother before returning to Parkside.
Traylor remained active even after her 100th birthday, flying in an ultralight airplane with her nephew when she turned 101.
Melissa Traylor died in North East, Pennsylvania, USA on 18 August 2017, at the age of 111 years, 193 days.