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Vi Malin, Norfolk’s oldest person, dies aged 111 in King’s Lynn
Vi Malin is celebrating her 111th birthday. Picture: Ian Burt - Credit: Ian Burt
Norfolk's oldest person has passed away at the age of 111.
Pictured at Mrs malin's birthday party are (from left) Doris Denson, Jane Lloyd, Kevin Lloyd, Rosemarie Parsons, Margaret Dix and Andrew Lloyd. Picture: Ian Burt - Credit: Ian Burt
Ipswich-born Frances 'Vi' Malin, who lived in King's Lynn, was believed to be the fourth oldest person in Britain.
She died peacefully on Monday at the Lisbon Court home, on Galyon Road, where she spent her later years.
Born in 1906, she went on to live through two world wars, 25 prime ministers, five monarchs and one World Cup.
'I never count the years, they just come and go,' she once said. 'I have always had such good health but I didn't think I would live to this age.'
Vi Malin, aged 18, in 1924. Picture: Submitted - Credit: Archant
Mrs Malin grew up in Sheffield, where her father ran a pub. At the age of 10, she watched German Zeppelins raid the city.
She left school at 14 and went to work in a South Yorkshire steelworks. In 1931, she met her husband Jack.
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Jack went off to war after hostilities were declared in 1939, but came back in one piece after serving in the Army in North Africa.
When he got a job on the trams, after returning home in 1946, he told his wife she didn't need to carry on working and she readily agreed.
Her parents, George and Hannah Lloyd, had since moved to King's Lynn, where her father worked on the railways.
Both drowned in the devastating floods which hit the town on January 31, 1953.
Jack passed away in 1993. Mrs Malin took her first trip in an aeroplane in 1994 at the age of 87 to visit her niece in British Columbia, Canada.
In 2003, at the age of 97, she moved to Surrey to be nearer family. When they retired to Lynn, she came with them, moving into Lisbon Court two years ago.
Although partially-sighted and a little hard of hearing, she was a keen fan of sport on TV.
She also remained a keen follower of her late husband's favourite football club, Sheffield Wednesday.
Mrs Malin's funeral is being held at Mintlyn on Thursday, October 5 (2.30pm).
Family flowers only have been requested. Donations to the Lisbon Court Amenity Fund may be made at the service.
