Deputies hold parade for Henry County woman’s 102nd birthday

Born at the beginning of the Roaring ‘20s, a Henry County woman celebrated her 102nd birthday Friday with pomp and circumstance as multiple law enforcement agencies paraded in front of her home.

A line of vehicles from the Henry and DeKalb county sheriff’s offices rolled past the home of Lillie Mae Hightower in Stockbridge around midday. Surrounded by family and friends, Hightower braved the damp, chilly weather to wave happily at the deputies.

Hightower was born in 1922, the same the year the Ottoman Empire was officially abolished and two years before former President Jimmy Carter. Celebrating the centenarian’s birthday with a parade has become something of a tradition after law enforcement officials surprised Hightower last year.

While Hightower’s age is remarkable, she’s still nearly 15 years younger than the oldest person alive, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which publishes a list of the world’s longest-lived individuals. According to the group, Tomiko Itooka of Japan, born in May 1908, is verified as the world’s oldest person at age 116.

In truth, those more than 100 years old make up one of the fastest-growing demographic groups in the country, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.

Changes in life expectancy mean Hightower has plenty of company above the century mark. In 1950, there were only 2,300 centenarians in the U.S., according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau estimates. Now, there are more than 100,000.