Nyleptha Roberts oldest living person in Tennessee died she was 112

Nyleptha Matilda Shell Roberts died she was 112. Roberts was the oldest living person in Tennessee at the time of her death. She was the 20th oldest living person in the world, and 9th oldest living person in the US.

(née Bryant; March 12, 1898 - May 5, 2010)

Nyleptha Bryant was born in White County, Tennessee in 1898. She was the oldest daughter of John Douglas Bryant, Sr. (1871–1932) and Molly Victoria Whitaker (1879–1957), and was their second child. They had 12 in all, and lived in Bon Air, Tennessee.

Nyleptha, who was named after the good queen in Henry Rider Haggard's adventure novels, loved to tell jokes and ice skate during her early years. She attended school in a small, country school house, and remembers seeing her first automobile in 1907, when she was 9 years old. At the age of 10, her mother taught her to sew, and she would make patterns and sew many of her own clothes for many years. In 1912, her father bought her an organ for $79, and she would learn to play by ear.

Growing up, Nyleptha's personality attracted the attention of many boys, but Aaron Shell stood out. On September 22, 1922, she married Shell, who was born on March 1, 1893 in Old Town, Tennessee. Their first child, Columbus Leon, was born the next year. Eventually, they moved to Stone, Kentucky, where Shell became the manager of a coal mine. As the Kentucky coal industry prospered, so did their family, adding Johnny Alvin and Juanita over the next few years. During that time, Nyleptha managed a grocery store in the town, and she purchased their first car, not telling Shell until she arrive home driving it that night. Shell died at age 62 on September 18, 1955.

In 1958, Nyleptha moved to Chicago, Illinois to start over. She worked at a clothing store, and also a manager of a laundry service. In 1964, her son Johnny became ill, and she returned to Tennessee, building a home in Sparta. In 1978, when Nyleptha was 80, she married Hubert H. Roberts, who was born on January 1, 1900. The two travelled all over the country, visiting 26 different states. Their family continued to expand, and Nyleptha became the grandmother to three grandsons and one granddaughter.

After only 8 years together, Hubert died in White County, Tennessee at age 86, on December 20, 1986. He was buried in Mt. Pisgah Cemetery, White County, Tennessee.

Nyleptha continued to live in her own home until she was 107 years old. At that time, she moved to Life Care Center of Sparta. There, she passed her time as the facility librarian and making soap fish, small statues of aquatic creatures made with a bar of soap, cloth, beads and other craft materials. She received a great deal of attention, as she was the oldest living person in Tennessee, and the oldest resident in all of the facilities managed by Life Care Centers of America, the largest privately-held nursing facility company in the U.S.

She was featured in numerous newspaper articles and in Life Care Leader Magazine. She was a registered celebrity on startiger.com and had resolutions honoring her passed in the Tennessee General Assembly. She had also received letters of congratulations on her birthdays from governors and presidents.

On the morning of May 5, 2010, Nyleptha passed away in her sleep. She was 112 years and 54 days old.

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