Elizabeth Sullivan and Cecile McKenzie Oral History

Both interviewed at age 105 in 2017, Elizabeth Sullivan and Cecile McKenzie remain the two oldest participants in the Museum's Oral History Project. Prior to this recording, the oldest participant was 99-year-old Dallas resident Princella Hartman, interviewed in 2006: Princella Hartman Oral History – Search princella (Objects) – Search – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Ms. Hartman passed away in 2013 at the age of 107.

As an interviewer, it was a remarkable experience to hear shared memories from these two Fort Worth natives and lifelong friends who were born shortly before the sinking of the Titanic. Sullivan and McKenzie were six years old when World War I ended in 1918 and nearly sixty years old when man landed on the moon in 1969. They lived through more than a century of global events from Pearl Harbor to the Kennedy assassination to 9/11, and it was an honor to capture just a few memories over the course of our hour together.

This interview was coordinated by Elizabeth Sullivan's friend, Olivia Duke. Duke, who at age five saw President Kennedy at the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth on the morning of the assassination, also recorded an oral history at Ms. Sullivan's home on the same day as this recording. Olivia Duke's oral history may be found here: Olivia Duke Oral History – Search duke (Objects) – Search – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. - Stephen Fagin, Curator    

Ms. Sullivan and Ms. McKenzie passed away within a week of one another just eight months after this interview was recorded. Elizabeth Sullivan passed away at the age of 106 on November 1, 2017. Six days later, her lifelong friend Cecile McKenzie passed away at the age of 106 on November 7, 2017. - Stephen Fagin, Curator