New Zealand's oldest man, Sir Lloyd Geering, dies aged 108

New Zealand's oldest man, Sir Lloyd Geering, has died at 108.His family said he died on Thursday morning at Bob Scott Retirement Village in Lower Hutt.Sir Lloyd, a theologian, was a member of the prestigious Order of New Zealand, and was knighted in 2009. He famously was tried for heresy by the Presbyterian Church in the 1960s after denying the immortality of the soul and the physical resurrection of Jesus."Up until that time I used to think of the church as a rather holy society, different from all the other human societies," he told RNZ in 2018."It made me realise that the church is just as human as any other kind of society."The church ultimately withdrew the charges, and he went on to set up religious studies at Te Herenga Waka / Victoria University."Lloyd's writings and lectures as principal of Knox College in the 1960s marked a shift in the way many New Zealanders thought about Christianity," his family said."He said that man had no immortal soul, and that the resurrection was best understood as a symbol of hope."He married three times - to Nancy McKenzie (died 1949), Elaine Parker (d. 2001) and Shirley White (née Adams) (d. 2021). He had three children, Jonathan (d. 2024), Judy and Elizabeth."His views and scholarship were deeply informed by his life experiences of loss and grief, and his pastoral work in Kurow, Opoho and Newtown."There is much consolation in the many messages he has received in recent years thanking him for the help his courageous and clear statements of his beliefs have given them."Sir Lloyd was born in Rangiora, during the last days of World War I, and for the first 25 years of his life his family didn't have electricity. In 2018 he told RNZ he spent his time playing Scrabble on Skype with people all over the world.He became New Zealand's oldest man in 2025, following the death of Jim Easton, a former prisoner of war.His family said he was "known to family, friends and colleagues as a person of integrity, humour, compassion and goodwill."He was a joy to have in our lives and we are grateful for having him for so long."A private natural burial will take place at Wellington's Natural Burial cemetery in Makara, and a public memorial will be organised at St Andrew's Church (date to be announced).