Merle Barwis
{{Short description|American-Canadian supercentenarian}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Merle Barwis
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birthdate|1900|12|23}}
| birth_place = Des Moines, Iowa, United States
| death_date = {{death date|2014|11|22}}
(aged {{age in years and days|1900|12|23|2014|11|22}})
| death_place = Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| religion =
| known_for =
| ethnicity =
| parents =
| spouse = Dewey Barwis
| children = Three
}}
Merle E. Barwis (December 23, 1900 – November 22, 2014)[http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timescolonist/obituary.aspx?n=merle-e-barwis&pid=173287905] was an American-Canadian supercentenarian who was at the time of her death, aged 113 years 334 days, the oldest living resident of Canada and one of oldest people ever in Canada. She became the oldest living person in Canada from the death of Cora Hansen on April 18, 2012, until her own death 2 years and 7 months later.{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/04/19/canadas-oldest-person-dies_n_1437074.html|title=Canada's Oldest Person Dies: Cora Hansen Passes Away At 113|date=April 19, 2012|accessdate=July 20, 2014|work=The Huffington Post}} Barwis was the last living Canadian person to have been born during the reign of Queen Victoria.
Biography
Merle Barwis was born on December 23, 1900, in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. A few years later, her family moved to Saskatchewan, Canada.[https://web.archive.org/web/20121222091656/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Canada%2Boldest%2Bknown%2Bcitizen%2Blast%2BVictorian%2Bprepares%2Bturn%2Bbefore/7722567/story.html Canada’s oldest known citizen — and last Victorian — prepares to turn 112 before Christmas] Retrieved July 20, 2014. She married Dewey Barwis in 1923 and had three children. Her husband worked in the Canadian Pacific railway. In 1952, her husband having retired, her family moved to Victoria, British Columbia. Her husband died in 1966.
She outlived her two sons and two of her 10 grandchildren. At the time of her death, she had 17 great-grandchildren.{{cite web | url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/11/27/oldest_canadian_merle_barwis_dies_at_113.html | title=Oldest Canadian Merle Barwis dies at 113 | publisher= Toronto Star | date=November 27, 2014 | accessdate=January 16, 2014}}
At the time of her death she was the fourth-longest lived person ever in Canada and the oldest person ever to live in British Columbia.{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/06/canada-oldest-person-merle-barwis_n_4549519.html|title=Canada's Oldest Person, Merle Barwis, Is Also B.C.'s Oldest Ever (VIDEO)|date=January 6, 2014|accessdate=July 20, 2014|work=The Huffington Post}}{{cite news|url=http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Merle+Barwis+becomes+oldest+British+Columbian+ever/9351780/story.html|title=Merle Barwis becomes the oldest British Columbian ever At 113 years and 14 days she is also among the 13 oldest people on the planet|date=January 5, 2014|accessdate=July 20, 2014|work=The Vancouver Sun}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e0DlaKBNDQ Celebrating a 111th Birthday] YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barwis, Merle}}
Category:Canadian supercentenarians
Category:Canadian women centenarians
Category:Women supercentenarians
Category:American supercentenarians