Fernande Courtoy: The New Oldest Belgian Living Well at 109

2023-10-02 19:09:00

Fernande Courtoy is the new oldest Belgian. Aged 109 and residing in a rest home in the Charleroi region, she told Belga on Monday that she never had the ambition to live so long. “I pay little attention to the passage of time, except for certain moments when I say to myself: ‘Ah yes, hey, I’m already this age‘”, she said.

Fernande Courtoy was born in Thuin on July 4, 1914, a few days before the outbreak of the First World War. In the 1930s, she continued her university studies. She obtained a license in pharmacy before getting married a few years later.

“My husband was chief engineer in the coal mines. He told me he made a good enough living and that I didn’t need to work“, explains Fernande Courtoy. Determined, the latter will still become a pharmacist following the marriage of her three children, then working in an establishment that she will manage in the center of Charleroi.

“At 65, I had to stop, but I continued to make replacements for several more years“, she explains.

“A normal life”

The new dean is undecided regarding whether she had a “happy” life. “A normal life I would say, but not unhappy, that’s for sure“, she says.

During her life, Fernande Courtoy had the opportunity to travel several times, even staying for a few days in distant countries such as China or Thailand.

Renowned for her determination among those close to her, Fernande Courtoy does not know whether to see this character trait as the reason for her longevity.

The new dean is not once morest living a few more years. “But only if health continues to be there“, she emphasizes.

She had 3 children

Until last February, she was still living in her house.

Fernande Courtoy had three children. Today she has seven grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter.

The former oldest Belgian Magdalena Janssens died on September 18, at the age of 111.

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