Hazel Skuce
Supercentenarian data for Canada
- Full name: Hazel Georgina Skuce (née Short) (formerly Patmore)
- Lifespan: (07.02.1912 – 03.01.2025)
- Age: 112 years, 331 days
- Birthplace: Blanshard Municipality, Manitoba, Canada
- Last residence: Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
- Application date: 25.02.2022
- Validation date: 31.05.2023
- Validation source: Dr. Wacław Jan Kroczek/Oliver Trim
Biography
Hazel Skuce, a remarkable soul born on 7 February 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,”
Her brother Lawrence Short and sister Muriel Myrtle Westwood both died at the age of 95. Her younger sister, Clara Hornibrook, died on 25 February 2022 at the age of 108 years, 166 days, making them one of the oldest sibling pairs in history.
On 24 August 2022, following the death of 111-year-old Jemima Westcott, Skuce became the oldest known living person in Manitoba
On 23 January 2024, at the age of 111 years, 350 days, Skuce surpassed the final age of Elizabeth Buhler (1899–2011) of 111 years, 349 days, becoming the oldest person ever to have lived in Manitoba.
On 25 June 2024, following the death of 112-year-old Gertruda Górecka, Skuce became the oldest known living person in Canada.
Hazel Skuce died at Hillcrest Place Personal Care Home in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, on 3 January 2025, at the age of 112 years, 331 days. Following her death, Margaret Romans became the Doyenne of Canada.
Hazel Skuce on her 110th birthday in 2022.
Longevity recognition
- Oldest living person in Canada (25.06.2024 – 03.01.2025)
- Oldest person ever in Manitoba (23.01.2024 – present)
- Oldest living person in Manitoba (24.08.2022 – 03.01.2025)
Validation
The supercentenarian case of Hazel Skuce was meticulously examined and verified by Dr. Wacław Jan Kroczek, and Oliver Trim, and validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) on 31 May 2023.
Hazel Skuce (left) on her 107th birthday in 2019, accompanied by her sister Clara Hornibrook (aged 105).
Hazel Skuce on her 111th birthday in 2023.
Hazel Skuce on her 112th birthday in 2024.
