BIOGRAPHY

Grace Catherine Jones was born in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, on 16 September 1906. Her brother died in Australia in the First World War. In her 20s, she owned a millinery factory in her hometown of Liverpool.

In 1933, she married Leonard Roderick Jones, a chief engineer, in Liverpool. Their marriage lasted 53 years, until Leonard’s passing in 1986 at the age of 79. The couple had one daughter, Deirdre McCarthy, and spent much of their married life moving around the country — relocating 28 times in total — with homes in Devonshire, Cheshire, and North Wales.

In 2005, Jones moved to Broadway, Worcestershire, to live with her family. She credited her long life to enjoying a glass of whisky every evening.

Jones passed away in Broadway, Worcestershire, England, on 7 June 2019, at the age of 112 years, 264 days.

RECOGNITION

Jones was the third supercentenarian — and the second from Britain — to bear the name “Grace Jones.” The others were Grace Nelsen Jones (1893–2006) and Grace Adelaide Jones (1899–2013).

On 28 August 2018, following the passing of 113-year-old Olive Boar, she became the oldest living person in the United Kingdom, at the age of 111 years, 346 days. Upon her own passing, she was succeeded by Gwen Payne.

Jones’ age was verified by Dr. Andrew Holmes and validated by the ESO on 14 January 2020.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Broadway’s Grace Jones celebrates her 109th birthday” – Worcester News, 16 September 2015

* “Grace Jones celebrates turning 110 with friends” – Worcester News, 16 September 2016

* “Britain’s oldest woman Grace Jones dies aged 112” – The Daily Mirror, 13 June 2019

GALLERY