Mary Josephine Ray: America's Oldest Person Dies at Age 114

Mary Josephine Ray, a woman from New Hampshire who had been certified as the America’s oldest living person, has died at the age 114 years, 294 days.

She died at a nursing home in Westmoreland on Sunday, but remained active until about two weeks prior to her passing, according to her granddaughter, Katherine Ray.

“She just enjoyed life. She never thought of dying at all,” Katherine Ray said. “She was planning for her birthday party.”

Ray was the oldest person in the U.S. and the second-oldest in the entire world, according to the Gerontology Research Group. She was also the oldest person to ever reside in the state of New Hampshire.

The oldest living person in the United States is now Neva Morris of Ames, Iowa (114 years, 216 days). The oldest person in the world is Kama Chinen of Japan (114 years, 301 days).

Mary Josephine Ray was born on May 17, 1895, in Bloomfield, Prince Edward Island, Canada. She moved to the United States when she was just 3 years old.

For 60 years, she lived in Anson, Maine. She had also lived in Florida, Massachusetts and in other New Hampshire towns before moving to Westmoreland in 2002 to be closer to her children.

Mary Josephine’s husband, Walter Ray, died back in 1967. She is survived by two sons, eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren.

Neva Morris, the woman now thought to be the oldest person in America, lives at a care center. Only one of her four children is still alive.

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