New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church

01 / The story of this place

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New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church is a neighborhood congregation on Inkster Road in Inkster, a small western Wayne County city next to Dearborn Heights. Its most famous member was Jeralean Talley, born Jeralean Kurtz in Montrose, Georgia, on May 23, 1899. She moved to Inkster in 1935 and lived there for the rest of her long life, and at church everyone called her Mother Talley. In May 2013 the congregation officially named its driveway after her to mark her 114th birthday. On May 25, 2014, a special service celebrated her 115th, and news photographers caught the oldest woman in America being escorted down the aisle. On April 6, 2015, she became the world's oldest living person, and she held the title for 72 days, until she died peacefully at home in Inkster on June 17, 2015, at 116. People who knew her remembered a sharp, funny woman who sewed and quilted, bowled until she was 104 and still went on a fishing trip every year.

1. Jeralean Talley's home church, where she was known as Mother Talley
2. The church named its driveway after her in May 2013
3. A service honored her 115th birthday on May 25, 2014
4. She was the world's oldest living person from April to June 2015
5. Talley lived in Inkster from 1935 until her death at 116