Guernsey language stalwart Marie de Garis dies
- Published
Mrs de Garis was a leading authority on the Guernsey language
Guernsey culture, heritage and language expert Marie de Garis has died peacefully at the age of 100.
Mrs de Garis, who celebrated her 100th birthday on 15 June, was best known as an author and expert on local language and folklore.
She died in the early hours of Tuesday morning after being admitted to the Princess Elizabeth Hospital on Friday.
Mrs de Garis was appointed an MBE in 1999 for her service to the promotion of the Guernsey local language.
She lived all her life in the parish of St Pierre du Bois, apart from the war years when she was evacuated to England, and only learnt English when she started school.
Mrs de Garis was highly respected as one of the leading authorities on the Guernsey French language, her knowledge of the island and its language has been described as encyclopedic and she took the greatest of pleasure in passing on her knowledge, especially to the young.
She authored the Dictiounnaire Angllais-Guernésiais, an English-Guernsey dictionary, which was first published in 1967.
Mrs de Garis also wrote a book on local folklore, a glossary of Guernsey place names, a grammatical work on the guernsey language and a history of St Pierre du Bois.