Louisville, MS home to America’s oldest man

By Elmetra Eichelberger Patterson

JA Guest Writer

Shortly after moving back home in 2006, this writer met the kindest, most gentle man who had become well known because of the fish he would catch for the annual Mt. Olive Fish Fry which took place in the Mt. Olive (COGIC) Community on the Sims Family’s property the Saturday before Labor Day. It will be held September 5, 2026, 12 noon until. While talking with him this day, he said he will not participate this year.

He is Mr. Major Jewel McDonald who has been revealed as the oldest living man in the USA by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). This was published by GRG on July 26, 2026, after the death of Mr. Edwin “Ed” George Martin in Lehigh, FL.  Mr. Martin passed on July 24, 2026, at the age of 111 years and 159 days. He was born in Baltimore, MD but moved to Florida after his retirement as a fireman in 1964. The oldest woman in the USA is Norma Washington Whitehead, born September 26, 1910, who is 115 years old. She lives in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Ironically, both the oldest man and woman in the USA are African Americans.

Mr. McDonald was born in Winston County on November 1, 1915, to later move to Cleveland, OH.  After 30 + years at Kroger he retired in 1980 and moved back to Louisville in 1983. He presently remains here. He will be 111 years 277 days (as of August 5, 2026) old on November 1, 2026, if he continues to be in good health and spirit. He is mobile with a cane and continues to cook his breakfast, according to his wife Brenda McDonald. The city of Louisville’s residents and family members are looking forward to a big CELEBRATION in honor of Mr. Major Jewel McDonald soon.