Mary Josephine Ray
| Mary Josephine Ray | |
|---|---|
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| 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. |
| 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) 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. (Kama Chinen 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.
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.
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. She died on March 7, 2010 at age 114. The death left Neva Morris as the oldest living person in the United States.
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