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Brooklyn Woman Who Was World's Oldest Living Person Honored With Tree

 Officials and relatives dedicated a tree outside the Vandalia Senior Center to Susannah Mushatt Jones, who held the title of the World’s Oldest Living Person before her passing on May 12.
Officials and relatives dedicated a tree outside the Vandalia Senior Center to Susannah Mushatt Jones, who held the title of the World’s Oldest Living Person before her passing on May 12.
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New York City Housing Authority

EAST NEW YORK — A Brooklyn woman once named the “World’s Oldest Living Person” was posthumously honored at her senior center on what would have been her 117th birthday Wednesday.

Officials gathered with local residents and family members at the Vandalia Senior Center in East New York to celebrate the life of Susannah Mushatt Jones.

Jones, also known as Miss Susie, was the last living American born in the 19th century until her passing on May 12, according to officials and Guinness World Records. She was 116 years old.

A tree was dedicated to her outside of the senior center at the Vandalia Avenue Houses on Wednesday.

She moved to the development in 1983 and participated in the tenant patrol team until she was 106.

“Miss Susie was a tenacious and admirable woman who sought to improve others’ lives with love and positive energy,” said New York City Housing Authority Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye.

“In the more than 30 years she called public housing home, she was an inspiration, beloved by all. This tree will stand for years to come, in tribute to Miss Susie’s commitment to strengthening her community over more than a century.”

The senior center hosted a birthday celebration for Jones ever since she turned 110, officials said.

“In her 116 years, Miss Susie lived a chronicle of American history, from her birth in 1899 to tenant farmers in Jim Crow-era Alabama to voting for the first black president of the United States, twice,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said in a statement.

“This tree will continue to remind residents of the Vandalia Senior Center and throughout East New York of her kindness and generosity of spirit.”