Mary Josephine Ray
| Mary Josephine Ray | |
|---|---|
| File:Mary Josephine Ray.jpg | |
| Born | Mary Josephine Arsenault May 17, 1895 Bloomfield, Prince Edward Island, Canada |
| 💀Died | March 7, 2010 (aged 114 years, 294 days) Westmoreland, New Hampshire, U.S.March 7, 2010 (aged 114 years, 294 days) |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Second-oldest verified living person from September 11, 2009, until her death Oldest person living in the United States from September 11, 2009, until her death |
Mary Josephine Ray (née Arsenault; May 17, 1895 – March 7, 2010)[1][2] was a Canadian American supercentenarian. At the time of her death, she was the world's second-oldest verified living person behind Kama Chinen of Japan, who was only one week older than Ray. After the death of Gertrude Baines on September 11, 2009, Ray became the oldest person living in the United States.[3]
She was the oldest recorded person ever to live in New Hampshire, although the oldest person born in New Hampshire was Nellie Spencer (1869–1982), who lived to age 113 years 81 days. Ray was also the oldest person ever recorded born in Prince Edward Island and the fourth-oldest person ever born in Canada.
History[edit]
Born in Bloomfield, Prince Edward Island to French Canadian (Acadian) parents, Sabin Arsenault and Lydie Anne Blanchard, Mary Josephine moved to the United States at age three. Her father died when she was 7 and her mother also died when she was 15. Mary went out on her own, working in factories in Maine. In the 1920s she married Walter Ray (died 1967), and moved to New Hampshire. She retired to Florida, aged 80, and lived there on her own until age 100, when her family brought her back to New Hampshire. At age 102, she moved into a nursing home when the family felt they could no longer care for her at home.[4] She died on March 7, 2010 at age 114. The death left Neva Morris as the oldest living person in the United States.[2]
Family[edit]
Arsenault married Walter Ray and had two sons. In all, she had two sons, eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren.[2][4]
Hobbies[edit]
Ray followed, as much as possible, the Boston Red Sox baseball team. After watching baseball games, she often had cake and ice cream. At her 108th birthday celebration, she was greeted with the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and a cake with the Red Sox symbol on it. Ray continued to buy Red Sox merchandise, and commented that she intended to continue doing so.[5] Fred Hale, who lived to be 113 years 354 days old, was also a fan of the team.[6]
See also[edit]
- List of the verified oldest people
- List of the verified oldest women
- 100 oldest American people ever
References[edit]
- ↑ "Mary Ray Dies at 114"[permanent dead link], by Casey Farrar, New Hampshire SentinelSource (March 8, 2010)[dead link]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Associated Press obituary via Yahoo News". March 8, 2010. Archived from the original on 14 March 2010.
- ↑ https://newspaperarchive.com/us/south-carolina/aiken/aiken-standard/2010/03-09/page-6?tag=mary+josephine+ray&rtserp=tags/?pep=mary-josephine-ray
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Mary Ray, 114: Oldest citizen of both Canada and U.S." 9 March 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ↑ David P. Greisman (2008-05-19). "World's eighth-oldest person, longtime Red Sox fan celebrates birthday". Nashua Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- ↑ Kirst, Sean (2004-10-25). Oldest Red Sox fan not betting on outcome. Mary was the oldest Boston Red Sox fan to ever live. The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) "Oldest Red Sox fan not betting on outcome". Archived from the original on 29 October 2004.
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