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Mary Chesney

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Mary Chesney
Mary Chesney
Mary Chesney on her 109th birthday in 2021.
Birth: 3 August 1912
Randolph County, Missouri, USA
Death: 5 May 2025
Moberly, Missouri, USA,
Age: 112 years, 275 days
Country: United StatesUSA
Validated

Mary Clark Chesney (née Manion; 3 August 1912 - 5 May 2025) was an American supercentenarian whose age was validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). She was the oldest known living person in the U.S. state of Missouri at the time of her death.

Biography[]

Mary Chesney was born in Randolph County, Missouri, USA on 3 August 1912. Her parents were James William Manion and Gertrude Finnell. She was raised on a farm in Clifton Hill, Missouri, with her older siblings Elizabeth and Finnell. She rode horses six miles to school every day, as there were no buses to take her to school.

On 15 March 1933, she married Wallace Chesney, who was from Kansas City. They lived there for many years, before moving to Moberly in the 1970's. The couple had no children. Wallace died in April 1996, after 64 years of marriage.

Over the years, Chesney has loved to play cards and sew. She drove until she was 102, and lived on her own until she was 104.

In August 2022, Chesney celebrated her 110th birthday. When asked what the secret to living to 110 is, she responded: "I don't have a secret. It just happened!" Her niece, Shirley Smith, stated that Chesney doesn't worry about things and never has. Staff of the nursing home described her as someone full of joy.

As of her 110th birthday in 2022, Chesney was still capable of walking with the help of a walker.

Following the death of 112-year-old Velma Hinds on 8 June 2023, Chesney became the oldest known living person in Missouri.

Chesney's age was verified by Waclaw Jan Kroczek and Oliver Trim, and validated by the GRG on 30 June 2023.

Mary Chesney died on 5 May 2025 in Moberly, Missouri, USA, at the age of 112 years, 275 days.

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