Jamaican Centenarian
Jamaicans Who Have Lived For 100 Years!

Jamaican Centenarian | Ms Leanora from Hanover, Jamaica

by Sheree-Anita Shearer | Associate Writer

Getting to the grand old age of 100 is something I believe many of us have thought about or hoped for at some time in our lives. But getting to a hundred is no easy feat. Ms Leanora who lives in Hanover, Jamaica not only knows what life is like at 100 but also knows what life is like after surpassing 100.

Getting to the grand old age of 100 is something I believe many of us have thought about or hoped for at some time in our lives. But getting to a hundred is no easy feat. Ms Leanora who lives in Hanover, Jamaica not only knows what life is like at 100 but also knows what life is like after surpassing 100.

Born in 1912 and still alive today, Jamaican centenarian, Ms Lea is 110! After surpassing such a milestone, she is now what we call a supercentenarian, the title given to anyone who has lived for 110 years or more.

While her memory isn’t what it used to be, she was still able to share a little of what she remembers of her life.

What she remembers vividly, is going to church with her grandmother in the early 1900s, which means the church and more specifically, The Lord, has been a constant part of her life from a very young age. This is what she accredits her long life to.

In her younger days, she was very active in the community through the church and the various clubs she was a part of. She couldn’t remember everything, but with the help of her granddaughter Windy, who had heard these stories from a very young age, she was able to recount the times she would walk from where she lived to other communities in Hanover such as Green Island, Cave Valley and Marchtown as a part of the church’s band and choir.

For work, Ms Lea sold fish in her community when she was younger, what she would do, was walk to the seaside to purchase the freshly caught fish from the fishermen as soon as they returned from the sea. Then, she would walk back to her community with the bucket on her head and sell it to the people there.

She does remember when Jamaica gained its Independence, at which time she was 50 years old. Can you imagine? She wasn’t able to recall all that happened but she was able to confirm that it was nice! And I think we can take her word for it. She also quipped, that back then things were cheap, something I think we wish we could say today.

Her granddaughter Windy who is proud to have taken on the task of caring for her grandmother was able to share some lessons she learned from her grandmother with us.

She was proud of her prowess in the kitchen and, she accredits it to her grandmother's teachings. Ensuring her house is always clean is something her grandmother was adamant about as well, and that was passed down to Windy.

Ms Lea’s daughter was a teen mom and so caring for Windy automatically became her responsibility of Ms Lea. She took on the challenge and allowed Windy’s mother to complete school and find a job. Because of this, the bond between Windy and her grandmother is undeniable. And even after Windy herself had grown up and become a mother herself and Ms Lea was no longer able to care for her, she would still wait up at night for Windy until she got home from work, no matter how late it was.

She has been a wealth of knowledge for her descendants even her great and great-great-grandchildren, especially in the past when her memory was better.

She was able to assist with assignments, giving a first-hand account of the truly historical moments in Jamaica’s history. So much so that her great-great-grandson did his assignment on his favourite hero about the one he knows best, his dear Ms Lea.

It would have been even greater to have Ms Lea recount more of what life was like in the past but just being able to learn what she has been able to remember and most of all to have met her is beyond what we could have imagined.

As with most grandmothers, prayer is always in order and Ms Lea finished off our meeting with that.

Thankfully, Jamaica is no stranger to centenarians and supercentenarians with several persons living to the grand old age of 100 and even surpassing it much as Leanora has done. However, it just never goes out of style to meet and interact with someone from our most treasured community of older persons.

Here is our video with Ms. Lea and her granddaughter.

Watch Video! Jamaican Centenarian | Ms. Lea

Who is the oldest person alive in Jamaica?

You might think Ms. Leanora is the oldest person in Jamaica, but it is actually, Louisea McDonald from Clarendon who is at this time, 111 years old. She along with Virginia Atkinson-Johnson join Leanora as the 3 oldest living people in Jamaica.

Jamaican Centenarian | Violet Brown Accepting Her Guinness World Record At Her Home From Carlos Martinez (Photo Credit: Guinness World Records)

Is Violet Brown still alive?

So you have been searching for Jamaican centenarians! Unfortunately, Jamaica’s oldest recorded person, Violet Moss Brown passed away in September of 2017 at the age of 117 years 189 days. Born March 10, 1900, in Duanvale, Trelawny to builder John Moss and her mother Elizabeth.

Ms. Violet was one of two last living persons who were subjects of Queen Victoria and the last known people to be born in 1900. Violet holds the record for the oldest living person from the Caribbean and 7th overall in the world.

Jamaican Centenarian | Violet Brown and Her Son 97 Year Old Harland Fairweather

Who is the oldest person to have a parent?

Unsurprisingly, Violet Brown’s son, Harland Fairweather who was 97 at the time of his passing was the oldest person with a living parent. They also shared the record for the highest combined age of a parent and child at the time of Hartland’s passing just months before his mother in 2017.

Jamaican Centenarian | Violet Brown Bust - Duanvale Trelawny

On March 10, 2021, on what would have been Aunt V’s 122nd birthday, the Violet Moss Brown Bust was unveiled in the community of Duanvale, Trelawny to highlight a life well lived. Quite fittingly, a storyboard of her life was also erected at her home.

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Return to Jamaican People from Jamaican Centenarian
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References & Sources For Jamaican Centenarian

1. At 110 YEARS, She Is The OLDEST Living Person In Jamaica!, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlQe-fiXRSg
2. Grange unveils monument to supercentenarian Aunt V | News | Jamaica Gleaner, https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20220311/grange-unveils-monument-supercentenarian-aunt-v
3. Supercentenarian Violet Moss Brown immortalised with bust in Duanvale | News | Jamaica Gleaner, https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20220314/supercentenarian-violet-moss-brown-immortalised-bust-duanvale

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