James "Jim" Wylie Mahaffey

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From FindAGrave:

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'Mr. Jim,' Oldest Vet Dead At 108.
By Lester Robinson.

James W. "Jim" Mahaffey of Lancaster, South Carolina, South Carolina's last Veteran of the Spanish-American War, died Wednesday at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Columbia. He was 108.

Mr. Mahaffey had been active until about seven years ago when he was admitted to the W.J. Bryan Dorn Veterans Administration nursing home after suffering a mild stroke, one of the few times that he had ever been ill.

The VA determined Mahaffey was the second oldest veteran in the county. The oldest, Harry J. Chaloner of the VA's Bay Pines, Fla., nursing home, is a few months older.

Mahaffey worked in a hospital in Florida during the War with Spain after Army officials learned that he was immune to yellow fever and certain strains of influenza which plagued American soldiers in the tropics.

"He seldom has a common cold or even a headache," said a family member. Mahaffey once told the Lancaster News that he attributed his long life to "going to bed early, arising early, and eating a hearty breakfast."

His family honored him with a reception at his home on Chesterfield Avenue on the event of his 100th birthday. Mahaffey stood in the receiving line, greeting all guests.

Mahaffey was born January 27, 1875, at Gooch's Landing on the Catawba River, a son of the late George W. and Margaret Elizabeth Barton Mahaffey. He was the oldest of seven children, six boys and a girl.

Mahaffey had said that he once wanted to be a doctor. However, after the war he went to work with Springs Industries Inc. He retired at 72 as a supervisor and then entered a second career, operating the Mahaffey Funeral Home until he was 90.

He was a member of the First Baptist Church, Jackson Masonic Lodge, American Legion Post 31, and Woodmen of the World.

Surviving are his Wife, Mrs. Dora Roberts Mahaffey; three daughters, Mrs. Paul E. (Sybil) Payne Sr., and Mrs. Olin (Grace) Monts of Columbia and Mrs. David (Libby) Phillips of Florence; a son, Dr. John E. Mahaffey of Charleston; 18 grandchildren; a number of great grandchildren, and several great-great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. Friday at the First Baptist Church by the pastor, Dr. Robert E. Cuttino, and Rev. E.S. Jones, with burial in Westside Cemetery.

(The Lancasters News (SC) - Friday, August 12th, 1983)

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NOTES ON PEOPLE; A Longevity Secret. By By Albin Krebs and Robert McG. Thomas Jr.

When he turned 106 yesterday, James Wylie Mahaffey wasn't able to say much because of the effects of a stroke he suffered some years ago, but his visiting daughter had a lot to say about his longevity. She said he's lived to be the nation's second oldest veteran because of his natural immunity to a number of diseases.

Mr. Mahaffey, a wheelchair patient at the Veterans Administration hospital in Columbia, S.C., first came to the attention of Army doctors in 1898, said his daughter, Sybil Payne. They noticed he seemed to have a built-in immunity to yellow fever, she said, so they used the then 22-year-old private as a nurse for fellow soldiers who were fever victims during the Spanish-American War.

And, said Mrs. Payne, back during the big flu epidemic of 1918, everybody seemed to have the flu but him, which didn't surprise anyone because by then he had a reputation for not getting sick, even with common colds.

Mr. Mahaffey is only a few months younger than the nation's oldest veteran, Harry J. Chaloner, who lives in a Bay Pines, Fla., nursing home.

(New York Times (N.Y./Region), Wednesday, January 28, 1981)

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Note: The "living" children cited in the obituaries above, except for Mrs. Sybil Payne, are assumed to be children of 2nd wife Dora.

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