Marie De Garis (1910–2010)

Marie de Garis, née Le Messurier, was born and lived her whole life on the island of Guernsey, except for the years of World War II when she was evacuated to England. She became a lexicographer and author of the Dictiounnaire Angllais-Guernésiais (English-Guernésiais Dictionary), which she began compiling in 1945 and published the first edition in 1967. She was also an authority on folklore of the island, and contributed a number of articles to the Review of the Guernsey Society during the early 1970s, which formed the basis of her book Folklore of Guernsey (1975). She served as president of La Société Guernesiaise and of L'Assembllaïe d'Guernesiais. In 1999, she was named an MBE for her contributions to the preservation of Guernsey culture.