Mary Christian

Mary Christian
Birth:	12 June 1889 Taunton, Massachusetts, USA
Death:	20 April 2003 San Pablo, California, USA
Age:	113 years, 312 days
Country:	USA
Validated

Mary Dorothy Christian (née Perry; 12 June 1889 – 20 April 2003) was a validated American supercentenarian who became the oldest recognised person in the United States at age 113 upon the death of 113-year-old Mae Harrington and was succeeded in this title by another 113-year-old, Elena Slough.

Biography

Mary Dorothy Perry was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, USA on 12 June 1889 to parents whose name had been anglicised from Perreira (she was of Portuguese descent). She moved with her family to San Pablo. She was a teenager working at an East Bay chocolate factory when she watched flames engulf San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake.

She married Otis Pious “O.P.” Christian in 1907 and had two sons, whom she outlived. Following a divorce in 1922, she worked several jobs, including elevator operator and department store saleswoman, before retiring in 1971. She lived alone until she turned 102 and refused to be taken in by family members.

Mary Christian died in a nursing home in San Pablo, California, USA at the age of 113 years, 312 days. At the time of her death, she had two great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Gallery

Aged 100

Aged 104

Aged 113

References

• Nation's oldest person dies at age 113 CBS News. 22 April 2003
• Maria Dorothy (Perry) Christian (1889 - 2003) WikiTree
• Verified Supercentenarians (Listed Chronologically By Birth Date) Gerontology Research Group
• Mary Dorothy Pereira Christian Find A Grave

United States' Oldest Living Person Titleholders (V • E)

Lucy Woodman • Nancy Merriman • Betsy Baker • Jennie Howell • Catherine Waller • Robert Early • Nettie Minick • Mary Kelly • James King • Narcissa Rickman • Kitty Harvey • Ettie Crist • Ginevra Donovan • Mary Bittlebrun • Ellen Cooke • Alice Coles • Eliza Underwood • Nellie Spencer • Emma Wilson • Augusta Holtz • Mary McKinney • Florence Knapp • Easter Wiggins • Delphia Welford • Margaret Skeete • Wilhelmina Kott • Georgia Ella Jordan • Sarah Knauss • Ella Miller • Maude Farris-Luse • Grace Clawson • Adelina Domingues • Mae Harrington • Mary Christian • Elena Slough • Charlotte Benkner • Emma Verona Johnston • Elizabeth Bolden • Emma Tillman • Corinne Dixon Taylor • Edna Parker • Gertrude Baines • Mary Josephine Ray • Neva Morris • Eunice Sanborn • Besse Cooper • Dina Manfredini • Gertrude Weaver • Jeralean Talley • Susannah Mushatt Jones • Goldie Michelson • Adele Dunlap • Delphine Gibson • Ophelia Burks • Lessie Brown • Alelia Murphy • Hester Ford • Thelma Sutcliffe • Bessie Hendricks • Edie Ceccarelli • Elizabeth Francis

California's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (V • E)

Fannie Thomas • Mary Phil Cota • Walter Wilcox • Gregory Pandazes • Mary McKinney • Bertha Blair • Unknown • Zoe Hiehle • Katherine Jones • Amy Harris • Miriam Carpelan • Christian Mortensen • Frances Johns • Clara Huhn • Adelina Domingues • Mary Christian • Emma Taylor • Elma Corning • Margaret Russell • Marion Higgins • Gertrude Baines • Soledad Mexia • Opal Thompson • Dominga Velasco • Florence Boggs • Clarence Matthews • Minnie Whicker • Lucy Mirigian • Mila Mangold • Edie Ceccarelli • Ilse Meingast