Bernice Sebastian, a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, passed away on 3 January, at the age of 112 years, 104 days, according to NevisPages.com.
Bernice Rosalind Eugene Sebastian was born in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis (then part of the United Kingdom), on 21 September 1913, as the first of twelve children born to Joseph Matthew Sebastian (1891–1944) and Inez Veronica Hodge. Her father was a Caribbean trade union leader and politician.
Sebastian never married nor had children. From 1932 to 1941, she served as an assistant teacher at the Basseterre Boys’ School. In 1941, she assumed the role of Headmistress at the Dieppe Bay Infant (Primary) School. When she began her tenure, the school had only three classes. She continued to lead the school for 25 years until her transfer to Irish Town School, where she stayed until her retirement in September 1969.
Following her mother’s passing, she left Saint Kitts to live in Nova Scotia, Canada with her sister, Dorette, where she would spend the next 27 years. Around 2000, she moved to Queens, New York, to live with her sister Elise. Then, in 2005, she moved to Barryville, and finally, in 2011, she settled in Philadelphia. At the age of 100, she had a pacemaker implanted.
At the time of her passing, she was the second-oldest known living person in Pennsylvania, following the nation’s oldest resident, Naomi Whitehead, 115. She was also the oldest known living person in the world who was born in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of Bernice Sebastian during this difficult time.
