BIOGRAPHY

Mary Keir was born in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK on 3 March 1912. Mary spent her childhood in Tyddewi, where she fondly remembered playing with friends and spending time by the sea. When she was a young child, her parents bought her a second-hand piano, and she quickly developed a love for it, playing throughout her adult life. Later, she moved to Cardiff to work as a nurse at Llandough Hospital, which opened in the 1930s. She worked there for 12 years. After marrying, she settled in the seaside village of Llansteffan near Carmarthen. She was the mother of one son, Robert.

In either 2011 or 2012, Kier moved into a care home in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Coincidentally, another supercentenarian Gwenllian Davies (1905–2016) was also a resident of the same home.

Mary Keir passed away in Llandeilo, on 17 December 2024, at the age of 112 years, 289 days.

RECOGNITION

Keir became the oldest known living person in Wales, following the death of 110-year-old Amy Hawkins on 9 September 2021, as well as the oldest known living person born in Wales, following the death of Mollie Walker on 22 January 2022.

Her age was verified by Andrew Holmes, and validated by the ESO on 27 April 2022.

At the time of her passing, she was the second-oldest living person in the UK, only after Ethel Caterham.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Diwrnod ‘pwysig iawn’ i berson hynaf Cymru yn 110 oed” – BBC.com, 3 March 2022

* “Wales’ oldest woman celebrates 111th birthday” – BBC.com, 3 March 2023

* “The oldest person in Wales has died aged 112” – Yahoo News UK, 19 December 2024

GALLERY