Naomi Washington was born on September 26, 1910 of
African American descent in rural
Georgia to Douglas and Pauline (née Young) Washington, where she grew up on a farm picking
cotton and
tobacco. She lived in
Patterson, Georgia, in her youth with her older siblings Douglas Jr., Clarence, Ellen and Viola. Whitehead, of
West Salem in
Mercer County, part of
Greater Pittsburgh, has stated that she never smoked or drank alcohol. She told reporters, "I'll live as long as the Lord lets me." Whitehead lives at St. Paul's Senior Living Community in
Greenville, Pennsylvania. == Personal life ==