CBHanif@SFLTimes.com
RIVIERA BEACH — Friends and family celebrated a monumental birthday this year when Riviera Beach resident and super centenarian Charlotte Hawkins Flowers became one of the oldest living human beings — at 112 years — on Monday, Feb. 20. On Friday morning, May 4, Flowers died of kidney failure.
“Every year since I can remember she would tell us, ‘This may be my last year. I’m going home to be with the Lord,’ ” Flowers’
granddaughter, Rangelique Moultrie-McCray, said earlier this year. “So no, I did not see her being here this long. But we are certainly grateful to God that He has kept us together.”
A centenarian is a person who is 100 years old or older; a super centenarian 110 or older. Flowers, who outlived her six siblings and nine children, was recognized by local and state dignitaries, including Gov. Rick Scott, as well as President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama.
A memorial service for Flowers was scheduled Wednesday, May 9 at Greater Bethel Primitive Baptist Church in Riviera Beach. A celebration of her life is set for Saturday, May 12 in Tallahassee, where Flowers lived before moving in March 2005 to live with her great-granddaughter Mia and three of her great-great-great grandchildren.
“Her life was long and it was rich and she enriched others’ lives,” said
Moultrie-McCray.“We are just grateful to God that He shared her with us.”
Photo: Charlotte Flowers
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