BIOGRAPHY

Nellie Harris was born in Wishart Point, Northumberland County, New Brunswick, Canada, on 14 September 1906, to parents Robert James Young Wishart (1873–1956) and Janet MacLeod Hierlihy (1875–1954). She had at least six siblings: William Hierlihy Wishart (1898–1987), Elizabeth Young MacLean (1900–1987), Hazel Alexandra Lurvey (1902–1971), Katherine Hattie Zinck (1904–1989), Dorothy Emily Janet McEachern (1912–1990), and Margaret Frances Ethel Stymiest (1917–2017). Her father was a farmer and fisherman, while her mother worked as a schoolteacher.

As a young woman, Harris moved to the United States to pursue a career as a nurse’s aide. At some point, she married John E. Harris (1908–1984), and the couple had four children: Reta Janet Munroe (1925–2004), Loraine Eleanor Guile Wishart (1931–2021), Robert Kenneth, and Marilyn J. Layton. She was a member of St John’s Presbyterian Church, Ladies Aid, Sunday School, Bible Study Classes and also member of Women’s Institute.

She lived independently until 2009, when she moved into a nursing home.

Nellie Harris passed away at the Tabusintac Nursing Home in Tabusintac, New Brunswick, Canada, on 19 December 2016, at the age of 110 years, 96 days. She was survived by her daughter Loraine, one sister Margaret Stymiest, as well as 11 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

Her age has not been validated.

ATTRIBUTION

* “N.B. woman marks 109th birthday” – CTV Atlantic, 14 September 2015

* “Tabusintac loses 110-year-old Nellie Harris” – CBC News, 19 December 2016

* Ellen Reta “Nellie” Wishart Harris – Find A Grave

GALLERY