By Khaila Gentle
BELIZE CITY, Mon. May 9, 2022
AMANDALA is saddened to inform its readers that on Monday, May 9, Belize City resident Leonora Patnett passed away at the age of 108. Patnett was born on December 13, 1913, making her one of the few Belizeans to have lived to see their centennial years.
When asked what she believed contributed to her enjoying so many years of life, Patnett often attributed it to her faith.
“Only God could tell you. Only God could tell you. He’s keeping me up. I pray that I live to see it and anytime God say ‘well, I ready for you’, then I am ready too, because it is a long time that I live,” she told News5 reporters on her 106th birthday in 2019.
She also gave credit to not drinking, not smoking, and making healthy food choices.
Last year, on her 108th birthday, Patnett was visited by Prime Minister of Belize, Hon. John Briceño; Albert area representative, Hon. Tracy Panton, and Belize City mayor, Hon. Bernard Wagner at her Wagner’s Lane residence—the place where she spent much of her life, including during 1961’s Hurricane Hattie. She was gifted with a birthday cake, a card, balloons, and a special care package containing grocery items, vitamins, and other products.
Up until the time of her death, Miss Leonora Patnett, who was the aunt of musical legend Wilfred Peters, was Belize’s oldest woman. She passed away peacefully in her home on Wagner’s Lane.
Her grandson, Lindbergh Sedacy, wrote the following about her passing:
“May she have a peaceful journey back to the stars from where she came. I love you granny, may Yahweh welcome you home.”