Hazel Skuce
- Full name: Hazel Skuce (née Short) (formerly Patmore)
- Lifespan: 07.02.1912
- Age: 111 years
- Birthplace: Blanshard Municipality, Manitoba, Canada
- Last residence: Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
- Application date: 25.02.2022
- Validation date: 31.05.2023
- Validation source: Waclaw Jan Kroczek/Oliver Trim
Biography
Hazel Skuce, a remarkable soul born on February 7, 1912 in Blanshard Municipality, Manitoba, Canada, has woven a tapestry of love, family, and resilience throughout her years of life.
Born to George Holwell and Esther Short, Hazel shared her journey with a loving family – brother Lawrence Short (1920–2016), sisters Muriel Myrtle (1917-2012), and Clara Hornibrook (1913-2022). Life brought both joy and sorrow, including the loss of her first husband, Dick Patmore, and later finding love again with John Skuce. She did not have children on her own.
Hazel and her sisters lived with their parents a few kilometres from Rivers and attended a one-room country schoolhouse. She remembered well the more than five-kilometre hike to school except, when it got too cold.
“We wanted to walk, but our parents didn’t want us to walk.”
Her first husband, Dick Patmore, ran a nursery in Brandon. He died and she remarried, but never had any children of her own. Her second husband’s name was John Skuce. Birds were her passion, and for 40 years she was a member of the local naturalists society, where she made a lifetime of friends. Skuce would go on to teach in many country schools, herself, as well as in schools around Brandon. In addition to teaching at various hospitals in the United States and in Rivers, Hornibrook used to dabble in art. She used to draw landscapes; however, she had to give it up due to the worsening sight.
On her 107th birthday, Hazel Skuce was visited by her 105-year old sister Clara Hornibrook at Hillcrest Place Personal Care Home.
When asked the perfunctory question about her secret to a long life, Skuce said there really isn’t one.
“I think what happens, happens, I’m just happy today and the next day and so on.”
Asked, then, if longevity has nothing to do with staying away from booze, Skuce broke into hearty laughter and gently touched the reporter’s chin.
“No! That isn’t anything, really, in my life,”
Hazel’s story is one of strength, especially seen in her beloved siblings. Lawrence Short and Muriel Myrtle Westwood both lived vibrant lives, leaving a legacy that echoed until the age of 95. Tragically, Hazel said goodbye to her younger sister, Clara Hornibrook, in 2022, marking one of the oldest sibling pairs in history, as Clara herself lived to the remarkable age of 109.
At the time of her 111th birthday, Hazel Skuce resided at Hillcrest Place Personal Care Home in Brandon, Manitoba. As of May 2023, she held the title of the oldest known living person in Manitoba and the fourth-oldest known living person in Canada (after Mabel Mah, Helen Doan, and Gertruda Górecka).
Longevity Recognition
- Oldest living person in Manitoba
Validation
Hazel Skuce’s age was verified by Waclaw Jan Kroczek, and Oliver Trim, and validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) as of May 31, 2023.
Hazel Skuce on her 110th birthday.
Hazel Skuce (left) on her 107th birthday in 2019, accompanied by her sister Clara Hornibrook (aged 105).
Photo courtesy of https://www.brandonsun.com, and Gerontology Wiki.
