New Zealand’s oldest surviving film star, Witarina Harris, has died at the age of 101.
In 1928, aged 22, she was picked by Universal Pictures to play the starring role of Princess Miro in the silent movie Under The Southern Cross, later known as The Devil’s Pit. … Read full obituary
Berres, a talented defensive catcher, struggled to get a chance in the Major Leagues and in 1933, after boosting his average to .294 with Birmingham in the Southern Association, he got the call from Brooklyn.
He hit only .215 and was returned to the minors in 1934. Another recall in 1936 also ended poorly and with a ticket the the minors again. … Read full obituary
KOLKATA [Calcutta]: A giant aldabra tortoise thought to be around 250 years old has died in the Kolkata zoo of liver failure, zoo authorities said on Thursday.
The tortoise had been the pet of Robert Clive, the famous British military officer in colonial India around the middle of the 18th century, a local minister in West Bengal state said.
Local authorities say the tortoise, named “Addwaitya” meaning the “The One and Only” in Bengali, was the oldest tortoise in the world but they have not presented scientific proof to back up their claim.
“Historical records show he was a pet of British general Robert Clive of the East India Company and had spent several years in his sprawling estate before he was brought to the zoo about 130 years ago,” West Bengal Forest Minister Jogesh Barman said. … Read full obituary
LONDON, Nov. 21 (AP) — Alfred Anderson, the last surviving soldier to have been present when the guns fell silent along the Western Front in the spontaneous “Christmas Truce” of World War I, died Monday in Newtyle, Scotland. He was 109.
He died in his sleep at his nursing home, said his parish priest, the Rev. Neil Gardner.
More than 80 years after the war, Mr. Anderson recalled the “eerie sound of silence” as shooting stopped and soldiers clambered from trenches to greet one another Dec. 25, 1914.
Born June 25, 1896, he was an 18-year-old soldier in the Black Watch regiment when British and German troops cautiously emerged from the trenches that Christmas Day in 1914. The enemies swapped cigarettes and tunic buttons, sang carols and even played soccer amid the mud, barbed wire and shell holes of no man’s land.
The informal truce spread along much of the 500-mile Western Front, in some cases lasting for days… Read full obituary
WORTHINGTON, Ohio — America’s oldest person (search), a 114-year-old woman who voted in every election since women earned the right in 1920 and had the thinnest file in her doctor’s office, has died.
Verona Johnston died Wednesday at home in Worthington, said her daughter, Julie Johnson.
“She just wore out,” Johnson said. “She was still very sharp up until a few months ago.”
Johnson said her mother was “ready to go,” and that shortly before her death she said: “Dying is hard, but everyone has to do it, and I hope I do it well.” …
The oldest living American is now Bettie Wilson of Mississippi, and Hendrikje Van Andel of the Netherlands is the world’s oldest person, according to the Gerontology Research Group. Both are 114. … Read full obituary
Princess Alice, aunt of Queen Elizabeth II and the oldest member of the British royal family, has died aged 102, Buckingham Palace said Saturday.
In a statement, the palace said Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, died quietly in her sleep at Kensington Palace with her immediate family around her. …
Princess Alice was the second member of the royal family to reach her centenary, after the Queen Mother Elizabeth, who died in March 2002 at the age of 101. … Read full obituary
Jack Lockett, Australia’s oldest man, marched off to join his World War I comrades when he died peacefully in a Bendigo hospital at 111.
Victoria lost its last fighting soldier of the 1914-1918 conflict at 11.15pm on Saturday. Political, civic and RSL leaders leaders described the passing of the pioneer Mallee settler as the end of an era.
Premier Steve Bracks offered his family a state funeral. …
John Henry Lockett is the third World War I veteran to die in the past 11 days, following the last Gallipoli Anzac, Alec Campbell, and Raymond Durston.
Only 14 World War I veterans are left in Australia, two of them in Victoria. … Read full obituary
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