Fred Hale American centenarian Date of Birth: 01.12.1890 Country: USA

1. Biography of Fred Hale
2. Early Life and Career
3. Adventures and Hobbies
4. Later Years and Legacy

Biography of Fred Hale

Fred Harold Hale, Sr., was an American supercentenarian and one of the world's 95 verified oldest people. He passed away just 12 days before his 114th birthday. Until his last days, Fred remained sharp and in good health. He achieved an extraordinary record at the age of 108, becoming the oldest driver in the world.

Early Life and Career

Fred Harold Hale, Sr., was born in 1890 in New Sharon, Maine. He worked as a clerk for a railway company. In 1910, he married Flora Mooers, and they welcomed their first child in the same year. Flora passed away in 1979, after 69 years of marriage, leaving Fred to live on his own for the next 20 years.

Adventures and Hobbies

In his later years, Fred embarked on various adventures. At the age of 95, he traveled to Japan to visit his grandson and stopped by Hawaii on his way back, where he tried surfing for the first time. When he turned 100, Fred visited Europe with his eldest son Norman, exploring the places where Norman had fought during World War II. There is even a story of Fred, at the age of 100, successfully hunting a deer.

Fred remained active and independent as he aged. At 103, he would shovel snow off the roof of his house, and at 108, he still held the record for being the oldest driver in the world. This record was officially recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records. However, Fred eventually decided to give up driving, realizing that elderly drivers like himself could be quite bothersome to others.

Later Years and Legacy

When Fred turned 109, he moved from his native state of Maine to Liverpool, New York, to live with his younger son. Even after undergoing cataract surgery, Fred maintained excellent vision, which is rare for someone of his age. He was known to enjoy playing cards until the end of his life.

Fred was a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, eventually becoming their oldest supporter. Shortly before his death, it was revealed that he was the only living witness of the Red Sox winning the World Series in 1918. Throughout his life, Fred had a passion for beekeeping and attributed his longevity to consuming a spoonful of fresh honey every morning.

Fred Hale had five children, outliving three of them. At the time of his death, he had nine grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and eleven great-great-grandchildren. Fred Hale passed away in a nursing home in New York on November 19, 2004, due to complications from pneumonia, just twelve days before his 114th birthday.