BIOGRAPHY

Layfield was born in Arkansas, USA, on 22 November 1908, to parents John Burton Pitts (1882–1977) and Bertha Chloe Robertson (1887–1973). She moved to California at the age of 13. She grew up on a farm, where she milked cows and canned fruit.

At some point, she married Granville Boyd Layfield. The couple operated a bath house in California Hot Springs. At some point, they moved to Porterville, where her husband worked as a physical therapist on Second Street. She worked alongside him in his office. They had a daughter, Sharron Harrington.

In 1996, she moved to Porterville Convalescent Hospital in Porterville, where she resided for the rest of her life. Some of her hobbies included playing the piano, as well as the ukulele, violin, and drums. She was able to dance on her 110th birthday.

Layfield passed away in Porterville, California, USA, on 30 January 2020, at the age of 111 years, 69 days. She was survived by her daughter and son-in-law, and well as numerous descendants, including great-great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

With a combined age of over 222 years, they hold the title as one of the oldest validated pairs of siblings ever recorded. They are the second documented pair of sisters to both reach the ages of 111, following the Japanese sisters Kame Ganeko and Kikue Taira, and the British sisters Lilian Priest and Gwen Moore. They are also the second documented pair of supercentenarian sisters in the United States, after Nelle Eby (1881–1993) and Katharine Davenport (1883–1993).

ATTRIBUTION

* John Burton Pitts – Find A Grave

* “109 years of Thanksgiving” – Porterville Recorder, 24 November 2017

* “Layfield celebrates 110th birthday” – Porterville Recorder, 1 December 2018

* “The Hat Lady: Remembering Mildred Layfield, who lived to be 111” – Porterville Recorder, 3 February 2020

GALLERY