Elizabeth Fairgirl Gromdy (born 8 July 1902?) is an American Longevity Claim and the youngest sister of Schultzy Bootz. Her sister claimed to be the oldest person ever. If their ages could be verified they would be the first and third oldest people ever as well as the oldest siblings ever with a combined age of 252 years, nearly 24 years longer than the verified record. She is also the last surviving member of the Starbroke-Gotz family which sibilings span the years 1868-present (157 years).
Biography[]
Early Life and Childhood[]
Elizabeth Fairgirl Gromdy was born as Elizabeth Fairgirl Satbroke-Gotz to a family of the German persuasion in Niota, Tennessee, USA as the youngest child of 18. Her parents were Dalton Paul Starbroke-Gotz (1855-1949) and Pearl Lorella Smith Starbroke-Gotz (1855-1952). Gromdy was born when both of her parents were 47 years old. Dalton and Pearl Starbroke-Gotz where married for over 80 years before their deaths.
Gromdy was raised on a large wooded farm in rural Niota, Tennessee where she spent most her early life learning to be a seamstress and helping out with farm chores. She grew up in a large old house with five floors and many bedrooms though there were only two bathroom and and outhouse. The house has been reconverted but it still stands on Route 265 in Niota.
Due to the fact that Gromdy was the youngest child, most of her oldest siblings were long moved out of the house by the time she was born. In fact, Gromdy was already a great-aunt before she was born because her oldest brother, Henry became a grandfather in 1900 when he was only 31. At this time and due to the fact that Gromdy lived on a farm, most people had children very young. For example, Gromdy's parents had their first child when they were only 13.
When Gromdy's youngest older sibling, Clifton moved out of the house in 1916, Gromdy and her parents lived alone in the house. In 1918, Gromdy got married and moved out of the house and her parents sold their farm and moved into a smaller house closer to town, where they lived the rest of their lives.
Family and Siblings[]
List of Elizabeth's siblings (males in bold)
- Henry Styler Starbroke-Gotz (1868-1968)
- Johnson Starbroke-Gotz (1870-1971)
- Dotty Siler (1872-1980)
- Patricia Marie Borgdon (1874-1985)
- London Artwerk Starbroke-Gotz (1876-1947)
- Gretta Sente Arbuch (1878-1943)
- Harrison Lee-Rainer Starbroke-Gotz (1880-1958)
- Sampson Hauser Starbroke-Gotz (1882-1972)
- Oo Monroe Cox-Martin (1884-1979)
- Gertrude Townsen Housecoat (1886-1990)
- Linville Colton Starbroke-Gotz (1888-1954)
- Samantha Rebba Colfax (1890-1968)
- Gordan Vann Starbroke-Gotz (1892-1989)
- Schultzy Greta Bootz (1894-2024)
- Cynthia VandenOsdell (1896-1999)
- Quinn Tyler Starbroke-Gotz (1898-2007)
- Clifton Banks Starbroke-Gotz (1900-1987)
- Elizabeth Faregirl Gromdy (1902-present)
Marriage, Children and Family[]
Gromdy got married in 1918 and went on to have three sons and three daughters. Her first son was born in Niota but the family soon moved to Cleveland, Tennessee. She and her husband bought a three story house in Cleveland in 1921 that had six bedrooms and four bathrooms. The house was built in 1897.
Gromdy became a grandmother in 1940, a great grandmother in 1962, a great-great grandmother in 1986, and a great-great-great grandmother in 2009. Most of her family lives in the Cleveland area but she also has relatives in North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Middle Life[]
Gromdy was fortunate to have all of her siblings still alive until 1943 when her older sister Gretta died. Gretta developed an undiagnosed disease in 1941 and moved in the Gromdy and her husband in 1942 due to her ill health. At this point all of Gromdy's children had moved out of the house. The day Gretta died, Gromdy recalled that all of her sibling and parents gathered around Gretta's bed. No one expected Gretta to die so young and no one expected her to be the first sibling to die. Everyone just spoke in shock, "Oh no, not Gretta." This was a hard hit to the family especially Gromdy's parents who were still alive at the age of 87. Gromdy speaks of this moment as one of the darkest times of her life. Gromdy states to the present day that she is extremely glad that all three of her children are still alive and healthy. She had to watch her parents lose by Gretta and her brother London while they were still alive and she saw how hard it was for them.
Gromdy's parents maintained good health into their older age and lived in a small cottage in the center of town. They were married for 81 years until her father, Dalton died at the age of 94 in 1949. Her mother, Pearl lived independently until early 1952 when she moved in with her eldest son, Henry who was 84 years old himself, she died two months later at the age of 97 in 1952. Gromdy was 50 years old at this time.
Gromdy continued to live in her large house with her husband long after her children were gone. Her husband's health began to fail in 1977 and Gromdy took care of him until his death in 1979 at the age of only 77. Gromdy watched more and more of her siblings die throughout the coming decades. In 1970, Gromdy had 11 siblings alive which she was very thankful for since in 1970, Gromdy turned 68. By 1980, she only had eight siblings left out of her original 17 siblings. By 1990 only 4 siblings remained and by 2000, only 2. By 2010, only her and her sister Schultzy remained out of the original family.
Gromdy did not despair though because she had contless nieces and nephews and cousins and grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even great-great and great-great-great grandchildren.
Elizabeth Gromdy's mother, Pearl Starbroke-Gotz (1855-1952) in 1951 at the age of 96.
After this, Gromdy lived in the large house for the next 68 years until 1997 when she was 95 years old. At this time she was having trouble walking so she moved into a one bedroom apartment on the third floor of a building at Hollowride Circle Life Community.
Later Life[]
In her younger years, Gromdy was a very active person. She developed a problem with her legs when she was in her mid 70s and was walking with a cane by the age of 79. Despite this, Gromdy maintained relaitvely good health well past 80. When Gromdy was in her mid to late 80s and even into her early 90s, she would still walk around outside her house in the neighborhood at night, even if it was cold and/or raining. She quit doing this at the age of 92 in 1994 when she had to start using a walker.
At the age of 95 Gromdy was no longer able to take care of her house alone. She claimed that the house was haunted and that she was afraid. The 4000 sqft house was also too large for Gromdy to take care of by herself due to her advanced age of 95. In this stage however, Gromdy was still in good shape. She was right in the head and could walk with a cane or walker as well as be able to drive. In October 1997, Gromdy moved out of her house leaving it vacant and moved into an independent living apartment about five miles from her former house. Her family kept her house which now sits empty with no one living in it. Her family does some cleaning and maintenance of the yard but it has largey remained untouched since 1997. The community she moved to was across the street from a nursing home and it was called Hollowridge Circle. She lived in a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment which she took care of by herself. She still cooked her own meals and drove herself to church and to go shopping.
Gromdy was still in good shape even after turning 100. Since her later 90s, Gromdy mostly used a walker but she often walked unassisted within her apartment building until she was around 103. She was still living independently even when she got to the ages of 101, 102 and 103. However around 2005, Gromdy's health began to decline. She could no longer drive and used a walker whenever she left her room. She began eating meals in the Hollowridge Circle dining hall and she needed a nurse to help her clean her apartment and run errands.
At the age of 104 in October 2006, Gromdy's family decided that it was time to move her into the nursing home. Gromdy was still able to stand a little unassisted but normally used a walker. She was barely able to get into her car and glide across the street to the nursing home. This was the last time that Gromdy ever drove.
Gromdy has had several falls, but she was able to recover well, never injuring herself too badly. She has been semi-wheelchair bound since a fall at the age of 118 in 2021. She then had a stroke at the age of 120 in 2022 that left her with difficulty speaking and she has mostly used a wheelchair since. She is still able to stand with support briefly but she can't take steps forward and she uses a reclining wheelchair almost all of the time as of September 2025.
Gromdy is the youngest sister of Schultzy Bootz who lived to be 130 years old. Gromdy still lives around Niota, Tennessee, USA but Schultzy lives in Knoxville. Despite being eight years younger than Schultzy, Gromdy is in much worse condition. Schultzy was still living as if she was 30 long after Gromdy and all of the other siblings were driving Park Avenue's and moving into nursing homes. Gromdy drove a park avenue at one point but she wrecked it at the age of 104 when she was in the process of moving into her nursing home. Gromdy also used to go get her roots done like her sister but stopped around the age of 120. She is now a great-great-great grandmother.
One of Gromdy's other sisters Cynthia VandenOsdell, who she was very close with died in December 1999 at the age of 103. VandenOsdell was in good health like Schultzy and lived independently until her death of a sudden heart attack soon before the year 2000.
Elizabeth Gromdy currently lives in Cleveland, Tennessee, USA at the claimed age of 123 years, 215 days. Her health is alright and she mostly sits in her chair or in her bed, occasionally going outside for outings.
Around September 2024 there was an incident where Gromdy's ongoing status was questioned. She was not in attendance at her sister's funeral which led people to question if she was still alive. Eventually proof was received that she was still alive.
On December 20, 2024, Gromdy reached the age of 122 years, 165 days and surpassed the age of Jeanne Calment like her sister already did. Due to her reaching the age of the oldest person ever, the lease on her nursing home room ran out. Her family moved her out of the nursing home and into a one floor townhouse in a nearby retirement community. She has live in nurses who take care of her 24/7.
As of April 2025 Gromdy's health is said to be somewhat improved and she can sit in a recliner in her new bedroom. Her speech has also improved with the help of therapy. Gromdy's doctors think that she may be able to live a few more years. Gromdy spends her days watching TV, visiting with relatives and reading. She says that she wants to make it to 125 but afterwards she says she will be ready to go.
Rumors about house[]
Gromdy's house is situated at 141 Ridgecrest Drive in the gated neighborhood of Pine Forest in Cleveland, Tennessee, USA. The house was an old farmhouse and built in 1897. The Gromdys bought the house in 1921 and at that point, there were only a few other houses around it. This rural area was converted into suburbs in the early 1940s and became a gated community in 1972, making the house one of the oldest in the neighborhood.
Gromdy claimed that the house was haunted in her later years in the house. She recounted hearing weird noises in the night especially in the 1980s and 1990s, after her husband had died. She also mentioned seeing shadow-like figures around the house on occasion. She normally stayed in the house alone after her husband died, though family came to visit sometimes.
One specific circumstance was a cold rainy night in February 1991 when Gromdy was 88. A few relatives had come to visit her and have dinner with her. They left around 10pm and Gromdy went out for her usual nights walk around the gated neighborhood. She walked down the deserted quite stone sidewalks lit only by street lights and lonely lights from houses nearby. Gromdy wore her long brown trench coat and carried a cane. Her walk lasted about 20 minutes before she returned home and went up to her bed. She had been in bed for about 20 minutes when she heard doors close downstairs. She looked down there but saw no one. The noises continued and around midnight, Gromdy looked out her bedroom window and saw a light in the garage on the other side of the house and a figure moving about inside. This terrified her and her granddaughter stayed with her the next few nights.
Gromdy eventually moved out of the house in October 1997 when she was 95 years old. She was having trouble caring for the large house and her mobility had declined, causing her to move to an apartment in a retirement community not too far from her house. The house has sat vacant for the nearly 30 years since. Her family would mow the yard, trim the hedges and clean the house but other than that the house looks basically the exact same as it did since 1997. Her two cars parked in the driveway both 1991 Buick Park Avenue's, one black and one white. Gromdy drove the white one until she stopped driving at the age of 104 in 2006. The car was then returned to her house and neither has been driven since.
A neighbor who lives across the street from the house took a photo one night in September 2011 of a ghost like figure in an upstairs bedroom. Her two cars are visible parked in front of the garage on the right side of the house and the house appears deserted.
Gallery[]
Photos[]
Videos[]
Miscellaneous[]
References[]
- Japanese News Article Transcript