Photo: WLTX-TV

A South Carolina woman who celebrated her 107th birthday last month delivered her secret to longevity: following God and the Bible.

"I do what the Bible tells me," Adell Julie Thompson told WLTX-TV.

Born in 1915, Thompson has remarkably lived through 18 presidencies. She observed people during her early years riding horses and mules and has seen everything from the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and World War II through contemporary events — a true rarity.

"I had no dream of being 107 years," Thompson said. "But the Lord spared me, and I try to do the right thing, I guess so people don't talk about you."

She's a mother of three, a grandmother of six, has 14 great-grandchildren — and even has three great-great-grandchildren. Thompson's family threw her a parade to celebrate her birthday on Oct. 10, and WLTX-TV sat down with the centenarian to understand her life and perspective.

While discussing her birthday, she kept coming back to God.

"I thank the Lord to have me to do the right thing until I do go," Thompson told WLTX-TV.

Thompson is hardly the first person to credit her longevity to her Christian faith.

Lawrence Brooks was the oldest-known World War II veteran in the U.S. when he died in January at the amazing age of 112. And as his life was being celebrated and commemorated, friends and loved ones revealed Brooks had a secret to his longevity: actively loving God and loving others.

Then there's Hester Ford, who died in 2021 at age 116. America's oldest living woman at the time, Ford summed up her life goal as follows: "I'm living for the Lord."

Finally, there's Martha Bailey, who turned 100 earlier this year. At the time, she said "loving the Lord" is her secret to longevity.

"The secret is the grace of God living in me and me trying to live the best life that I could," she told WUSA-TV. "The secret is loving the Lord."

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