2 years ago
SACRAMENTO, CA - Sacramento's George Rene Francis, officially recognized as the oldest living man in America and the joint second-oldest living man in the world, died this weekend at 112 years old. Francis, who lived in Sacramento's Eskaton Care Center Greenhaven retirement community, passed away Sunday after being hospitalized recently for heart problems. After living through 19 U.S. presidencies, Francis, who just last month celebrated the election of Barack Obama as president after living through six decades of Jim Crow laws, told News10 last month that he was thrilled to be able to cast a vote for a black president. "I voted for a black man," said Francis. "I made up my mind when they put him in the newspaper." (click here for the full story) Francis, whose 78-year-old daughter Lelia LaRue helped him fill out his absentee ballot, never thought he would see an African-American become president. Born in New Orleans in June 1896, Francis said he felt the sting of Jim Crow laws in the segregated South. "When my dad left the house, my mom didn't know if he was coming back dead or alive," LaRue explained. "He was the kind of man who wasn't going to let anybody call him any names." At 112 years, 206 days old, Francis was one of the 20 oldest verified men in recorded history. Francis shared a birthdate with the co-second-oldest man alive, Henry Allingham of Britain. The world's oldest living man is Japan's Tomoji Tanabe at 113 years old.
