The oldest and last of the Thornton sisters passed away last night peacefully in her sleep. Maggie Thornton Renfro was 115. Although the cencus reported her as 114, we will respect Maggie's memory of when she was born. Maggie will now join her sisters Rosie and Carrie who all died within days of one another.
Maggie, Carrie and Rosie were honored November 8th of 2009 at a Centenarian Celebration in Minden as part of the North Louisiana Triumph Over Tragedy commemoration of the Great Depression. The Thornton Sisters were the oldest African American siblings in the nation. Maggie Thornton Renfro held the distinction of being the oldest Louisiannian, the 4th oldest person in the nation and the 6th oldest person in the world.
Following the historic celebration in November at the Minden Civic Center, the Thornton family said that Cultural Crossroads was a real blessing to them.
On behalf of the board of directors of Cultural Crossroads, I must say that they were our blessing! We will miss their optimistic outlook on life, their sweet smiles and
their contagious laughter. And we will forever remember that they left us all with a special parting message: "Just love one another!"
--Chris Broussard
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