Joan Brennan

Joan Brennan
Joan Brennan at the age of 105.
Birth:	10 March 1912 London, England, UK
Death:	29 July 2022 Auckland, New Zeland
Age:	110 years, 141 days
Country:	UK NZL
Validated

Joan Edith Brennan (née Lewis; 10 March 1912 – 29 July 2022) was a British-New Zealand supercentenarian who became the oldest known living person in New Zealand after the death of 109-year-old Ronald Hermanns on 30 August 2021. Her age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG).

Biography

Joan Brennan was born as Joan Edith Lewis in London, England, United Kingdom on 10 March 1912. Her father, Sergeant Henry William Lewis, died on 4 May 1917, aged 39, of his wounds during the World War I, after returning home.

She moved to Australia with her mother and sister in November 1925. She later moved to New Zealand and trained as a nurse before returning to the Isle of Man. She met her future husband Tom Brennan while being back in England. In 1937, they married and permanently settled in New Zealand. They worked as lighthouse keepers on Portland Island, Hawke's Bay for seven years before moving to Auckland. In 1990, they moved to the Selwyn Village residential community. Tom died in 1998.

Brennan died at Selwyn Village retirement home in Auckland, New Zealand on 29 July 2022, at the age of 110 years, 141 days. Following her death, Aileen Kars became the oldest known living person in New Zealand. She was also the last surviving person in New Zealand born in 1912.

References

• 2022 validations, Gerontology Research Group
• No missed opportunities at 100 years of age Stuff, 14 March 2012
• 105-year-old Aucklander says long life helped by medicinal herbs and friendship Stuff, 14 March 2017
• Comment from child-in-law, 20 June 2020
• New Zealand's oldest person dies at the age of 109 Stuff, 1 September 2021
• 110th birthday confirmation, 15 March 2022
• Joan Brennan, believed to be New Zealand's oldest person, dies age 110 Stuff, 31 July 2022

New Zealand's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (V • E)

Lavinia Baskerville • Helen Dixon • Mary Luplau • Flora Barton • Alexander Hughes • Agnes Wilson • Lillian Blyth • Ethel Pearson • Mary Cartwright • Caroline Turner-Williams • Parewahawaha Ranginui Leonard • Florence Sedcole • Edith Robison • Jessie Little • Mary Bromley • Lillian Hickmott • Arthur Bates • Ethel Keen • Jean Tillie • William Swensson • Charles Campbell • Mary Doyle • William Buttler Hayes • Bertha Cole • Laura White • Ethel Booth • Mabel Wachner • Florence Finch • Irene Morgan • Ruby Billings • Inez Newton • Doris Mackintosh • Lena Ray • Maudie Wilson • Peg Griffin • Olive Oldfield • Madeline Anderson • Linda Wiggins • Mabel Jenkins • Lola de la Haye • Moy Kim Ng • Nina Brown • Ronald Hermanns • Joan Brennan • Aileen Kars