Hazel Skuce was born Hazel Short in Blanshard Municipality, Manitoba, Canada on 7 February 1912 to George Holwell Short and Esther Hyndman. She had one brother, Lawrence Short (1920–2016), and two sisters, Muriel Myrtle (1917–2012) and Clara Hornibrook (1913–2022).

At some point in her life, she married Richard “Dick” Patmore. After he died, she remarried to John Skuce, but never had any children.

Her brother Lawrence Short and sister Muriel Myrtle Westwood both died at the age of 95. Her younger sister, Clara Hornibrook, died on 25 February 2022 at the age of 108 years, 166 days, making them one of the oldest sibling pairs in history.

Skuce currently lives at Hillcrest Place Personal Care Home in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.