Manchester leads the way with the highest number of centenarians in the latest list of those who had reached age 100 and more, put out by the National Council for Senior Citizens to coincide with Senior Citizens’ Week which ended yesterday.

The south-central Jamaica parish led all with 25 centenarians, one more than St Andrew. In third place were St James, and St Catherine, both with 19.

Of the 194 centenarians that the council had on its list though, the oldest individual on record was Louise McDonald of Clarendon, who is listed at age 110.

There is a six-way tie for second-oldest individual at age 109. The council named them as: Clara Beckford Arthurs and Jane Thomas of St James; Esmi Mitchell of Kingston; Mabel Garnett of St Andrew; Virginia Johnson of Westmoreland, and another Louise McDonald of St Ann.

Coming in third at age 108 were Winnifred Mitchell (St Ann), Ethline Simpson, Imogene McLeod (St Catherine), and Hubert Williams (Trelawny).

The National Council for Senior Citizens, an agency of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, among other things, looks out for the interest of senior citizens islandwide, monitors their progress and assists them where necessary.

All 14 parishes had centenarians as residents. Apart from leaders Manchester, St Andrew, St James, and St Catherine, Trelawny had 16, Kingston 14, St Mary 13, St Ann 11, Clarendon, and St Thomas 10, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland nine each, Hanover eight, and Portland seven.