BIOGRAPHY

Grace Clawson was born in London, England, on 15 November 1887, although her family would emigrate to North America when she was a baby, settling in Montreal, Canada. Following the divorce of her parents when she was a teenager, she lived with foster parents until she married Ray Clawson in 1917. She worked as an embroiderer and as an office worker before retiring.

In her later years, she resided in a nursing home, and engaged in many of the activities, such as singing and playing bingo, despite her hearing loss sometimes making communication difficult. For most of her life, Clawson believed she was born in 1889. However, after ordering her birth record from the United Kingdom, her family discovered that she was actually two years older and born in 1887.

Grace Clawson died on 28 May 2002, at the age of 114 years, 194 days. According to staff at her nursing home, she was still lively just hours before her death, and was drinking coffee in the home’s activity room the day before she died.

RECOGNITION

Her age was validated by the Gerontology Research Group on 13 June 2002.

ATTRIBUTION

* Pensacola News Journal, 28 Dec 1999

* Tampa Bay Times, 30 May 2002

GALLERY