Falmouth, Trelawny, 10 March 2022 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has unveiled a monument in tribute to Violet Moss Brown, the Jamaican woman who during her long life was record holder for world’s Oldest Living Person and Oldest Living Woman.

The monument, which features a one and a half life-size bust, has been erected in the community of Duanvale in Trelawny where Mrs Moss Brown, affectionately called Aunt V, lived.

“She had been recognised globally as the oldest verified living person in the world for the last five months of her long life; this meant that Aunt V was among the last of her age cohort who was born in the 19th century and the only living Jamaican who would have experienced the reign of Queen Victoria,” said Minister Grange.

The Minister added that Aunt V’s long life “was an extraordinary achievement, deserving of the kind of recognition we gave her before her passing and now continue on this occasion, five years after [her passing]”.

Aunt V officially claimed the title of the world’s Oldest Living Person on July 27, 2017 at the age of 117 years and 139 days old. At the time, Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, presented her with the Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation at her home.

The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport has also been working alongside the Trelawny Municipal Corporation to honour the supercentenarian.

Last September the Ministry and the Municipality installed a storyboard at Mrs Brown’s home on the fourth anniversary of her passing. Aunt V died on September 15, 2017 at the age of 117 years and 189 days.

Thursday’s (today’s) unveiling of the bust designed by the sculptor, Pamrie Hall Dwyer, was witnessed by: Dr Beverly Davis Fray and Lelieth Palmer, granddaughters of Aunt V; the Custos Rotulorum of the parish of Trelawny, the Honourable Hugh Gentles; and Councillors of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation, led by the Mayor of Falmouth, His Worship Collen Gager.

The Mayor said “On the heels of International Women’s Day, I am proud that we are gathered here for this grand occasion to celebrate the strength and longevity of a strong black woman, a strong Trelawny woman, a strong Jamaican woman.”

Mayor Gager also commended Minister Grange for her “dedication to seeing this day come to pass,” adding “Never have I seen such a dedicated and hardworking Minister of Culture… you have placed this town of Duanvale on the world map.”

Minister Grange said it was important to memorialise Aunt V in the community.

“We place this bust here in Duanvale. May those who pass by stop and look and discover in that moment their own mortality and make the decision to make a positive difference to the lives of others as she did in her own quiet way,” said Minister Grange.

The Minister said she was careful to select March 10 — the 122nd anniversary of Aunt V’s birth — for the unveiling of the monument.

Beverly Davis Gray said she believes her grandmother would have accepted the honour “humbly, just as she accepted all the other accolades in her life… It is a testament that Jamaica values the life of my grandma.”

The monument to Violet Moss Brown is part of a series to mark Jamaica’s Diamond Jubilee.

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