Surrounded by loved ones, Canada’s oldest known person, Phyllis Ridgway, has died at the age of 114.
Born in Lincoln, England in 1907, Ridgway married her late husband Ernie and made Toronto home with their son.
Susan Hay, the anchor and producer of Making a Difference on Global News, was first invited to celebrate Ridgway’s 107th birthday in 2014 and then again in 2020 to celebrate her turning 113.
On March 13, 2021, just a few days removed from her 114th birthday, Ridgway received her COVID-19 vaccine at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. At the time, Ridgway called it a “wonderful experience.”
Her granddaughter, Barbara Ridgway, watched on with relief and said she hadn’t seen her grandmother that happy or excited in “quite some time.”
On Friday, Barbara said the thing she’s learned most about her grandmother was her “resilience and strength.”
“She’s a role model for us,” she said.
Barbara said Phyllis passed away peacefully Friday morning surrounded by the love of her family at Bridgepoint Active Healthcare.
— With files from Katherine Ward and Jessica Patton