Violet Hensley, the oldest living country legend, dies at 109

Violet Hensley, known for decades as the "Whittling Fiddler" and the "Stradivarius of the Ozarks," died on August 7 at the age of 109, Saving Country Music reported. Born October 21, 1916, during World War I in Mount Ida, Arkansas, to George Washington Brumley and Nora Springer Brumley, she lost her mother young and was raised alongside two sisters by her father, who taught her to build fiddles by hand using a whittling technique passed down from his own first hand-carved instrument in 1888.

Hensley was already a respected luthier and player when she married Adren Hensley in 1935. She gave birth to nine children and spent 27 years away from music raising them, not returning to fiddle making until 1961, once her children were old enough for her to pick the craft back up.

Her fame began as a fiddle maker, but Hensley became a cult celebrity in her 50s after she started performing at the Silver Dollar City theme park in Branson, Missouri, where she stayed for roughly 50 years, touring nationally in the off season. A National Geographic profile spread her name further, and she appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies during a 1969 shoot at Silver Dollar City, striking up a friendship with actress Irene Ryan, who played Granny. She went on to appear on The Art Linkletter Show in 1970, Captain Kangaroo in 1977 and To Tell the Truth, and was later profiled by the Smithsonian and by Charles Kuralt for his CBS series On the Road.

Hensley made her Grand Ole Opry debut on August 6, 2016, at age 99, decades after all that recognition began. She is remembered there among a run of Opry milestones MusicSuey has tracked this year, from Charlie Worsham's invitation to become the next Opry member to Stella Lefty's own upcoming Opry debut.

Over her career Hensley released three albums, Old Time Fiddle Tunes in 1974, The Whittling Fiddler and Family in 1983, and Family Treasures in 2004, and continued playing and crafting fiddles nearly up until her death. The Arkansas Arts Council had designated her a "Living Treasure," and a Violet Hensley-made fiddle remains a prized instrument among collectors and players of old time country fiddle music.

With Hensley's death, the title of oldest living country music figure passes to Western swing pianist Lucy Dean Record, reportedly still performing at 102, with Leroy Van Dyke, 96, and Willie Nelson, 93, also still active.