HammondCare CEO Mike Baird has paid tribute to the inspirational life of Frank Mawer following his passing after being weakened by a bout of COVID-19.

Mr Mawer passed away in his sleep aged 110 on Saturday at Central Tilba, on the South Coast, at the home of his son Philip.

Until November last year Mr Mawer lived independently in his own apartment at Gymea in Sydney’s south, supported by HammondCare At Home staff. He moved to the South Coast to be with his son, a nurse, and his partner following a fall.

Mr Baird said HammondCare was honoured to have cared for Mr Mawer for many years and it was fitting that HammondCare At Home staff were there to support him at the end at his final address at Central Tilba.

“Mr Frank was the most inspiring individual – a gracious man and a man of faith,” Mr Baird said. “HammondCare is proud to have helped him live his life to the full to the end.”

Mr Mawer, who celebrated his 110^th birthday on August 15, took the title of Australia’s oldest man in July last year after the passing of a Queensland man Dexter Kruger.

Mr Mawer’s son Barry said his dad had contracted COVID-19 several weeks ago. This had weakened him.

“He lived life to the full even in recent months. He insisted on sitting up for meals, he did his exercises every day, and had plenty of visitors,” Barry said. “He went to have his afternoon nap on Saturday afternoon and never woke up.”

In 2020, Mr Mawer said his advice for living to a grand age was simple: no smoking, no drinking and no gambling.

“These are three things you can choose. The way you live makes a difference. And the schooling costs of my six children was a worthy investment,” Mr Mawer said at the time.

While he has not had a drink for 80 years, Mr Mawer confessed to another vice: Portuguese tarts from a nearby local bakery.

Born in 1912, Frank married his sweetheart Elizabeth, an Irish immigrant, in 1939. Together they raised six children. The extended family has grown to 13 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Elizabeth passed away in 2011, aged 92. “It was a long marriage to a lovely girl,” Mr Mawer commented.

Mr Mawer and the extended family vacationed at the Blue Lagoon Beach Resort at Bateau Bay on the NSW Central Coast prior to Christmas for more than 60 years, usually at the same beachfront site. Mr Mawer and his family is so fondly thought of at the caravan park a street there has been a street named in their honour.

The news of his passing was shared on Sunday with the congregation of Horizon Church, Sutherland, where he regularly worshipped for many years. It was mentioned that the great Old Testament character Joshua also lived to 110.

There will be a celebration of his life at Horizon Church at a date yet to be announced after his body is cremated following a private service on the South Coast.

The HammondCare At Home team who supported Mr Mawer during his time at Central Tilba included clinical care manager Chalmain Hansen, care manager Rhett Guthrie and care worker Rosemary Cosgrove.