Week 22: Third Oldest

At 114 years old, Mary Ray, of Westmoreland, is the third-oldest person alive.

When she was born, Grover Cleveland was president. The automobile was uncommon and world wars were years away. The year was 1895.

She grew up in humble conditions on Prince Edward Island, Canada. At the age of 3, the family moved to Anson, Maine. A few years later at 8, her father died. Ray was forced to leave the third grade to help raise the family. At age 15, her mother died, too, and she and her siblings were left to raise each other.

"We don't know much about her past," granddaughter Kathy Ray, of Westmoreland, said. "She doesn't talk about it much, she just keeps moving forward."

Ray would go on to marry, raise two boys and enjoy life. It was a simple one filled with singing, gardening, card playing, laughter and love.

"The biggest lesson I learned from her is 'just be calm,' " said Donald Ray, 84, Mary's son. "Listen when you're supposed to listen, and talk when you're supposed to talk."

At age 80, the children weren't sure how long she would live, so they brought her back to New Hampshire from Florida. She lived with her son and granddaughter until her moving to her current residence at Maplewood Nursing Home at 100.

The notion of going to a nursing home was out of the question at first, but she warmed up to the idea when she found out men would be there.

"She went and threw on her white wig and said, 'How do I look?' " Kathy Ray said. "And that was that."

At 106, she was read her last rites before hip surgery. "When I asked how she was feeling after the operation, she said, 'How do you think I'm feeling? I'm waiting for "Wheel of Fortune" to come on,' " Kathy Ray said with a laugh.

In 2003, she sang "Take Me Out To the Ball Game," in front of the crowd at Boston's Fenway Park. One year later, the Red Sox won the World Series. Mary Ray and the family like to think they had a hand in the win.

These days, Mary Ray likes to keep to herself, except on special occasions like May 17, her birthday, when the entire nursing home celebrates another record-setting year.

"Do I think she'll break the record for oldest person? I think she will," Kathy Ray said.