- The woman died at the Santa María del Tura residence in Olot (Spain), where she had lived for about two decades | Photo: USA Today
María Branyas Morera, the woman who for a year was the oldest person in the world and the eighth oldest person in history, died in the early hours of Monday, August 19 in Spain at the age of 117 years and 168 days, her family confirmed to EFE.
Maria, whose remains were cremated on Tuesday, August 20, “went away sleeping, which was what she wanted and what we all want,” said Rosa Moret, Maria’s youngest daughter, aged 80.
One last message
The supercentenarian died at around six o’clock on Monday morning at the Santa María del Tura residence in Olot (northeast), where she had lived for about two decades, and shortly afterwards on her X account, which is run by one of her sons-in-law and has more than 18,400 followers, they wrote this message:
And when my voice is silenced by death, my heart will continue to speak to you of love” (Tagore). I feel weak. The time is approaching. Do not cry, I do not like tears. And above all, do not suffer for me. You already knew me, wherever I go I will be happy, because in some way I will always take you with me.”
The message has so far had nearly 80,000 views and more than a hundred messages of affection.
“And when my voice is silent with death, my heart will continue to speak of love to you” (Tagore).
I feel weak The time is coming. Don’t cry, I don’t like tears. And above all don’t suffer for me. You know me, wherever I go I will be happy, because somehow I will always take you with me.— Catalan Super Grandma (@MariaBranyas112) August 19, 2024
According to the Gerontology Research Group (GRG), which is responsible for verifying which people are supercentenarians (those who have reached the age of 110) through birth and marriage certificates, 11 people, all women, have lived longer than María Branyas, all of whom are deceased.
Longevity record belongs to a French woman
The longevity record is held by the Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997, who lived exactly 122 years and 164 days; she is followed by the Japanese Kane Tanaka, who lived 119 years and 107 days; the American Sara Knauss, with 119 years and 97 days of life, and, with 118 years and 340 days, the also Frenchwoman Lucile Randon.
The other seven who lived longer than Mary all died at the age of 117, give or take a few days.
Maria Branyas, who according to her daughter Rosa “has lived so long because she has not had any illness”, survived Covid-19 in 2020, aged 113, and became the oldest person in the world on 17 January 2023, when Lucile Randon died.
The last years of Maria Branyas
Maria knew she was the oldest person on the planet, “but she doesn’t care, she says she has no merit in that,” Rosa Moret, the youngest of her three children, explained to EFE a few months ago.
Rosa explained that since last summer her mother “has suffered a significant decline”, although she made it clear that “she is not in any pain and does not suffer from any illness”, it is simply that age has caused her to lose her vision, hearing and, more recently, her memory in recent years.
Maria, who had not been able to walk alone for some time, spent most of her days sitting in an armchair in her room, where she received visits from her two daughters – her son, who would have been 92 years old, has passed away – and a few other relatives.
María, the daughter of a journalist from Pamplona who was responsible for the American magazine Mercurio and a Barcelona publication, was born on March 4, 1907 in San Francisco (USA), where her father had gone to work after spending some time in Mexico.
In 1914, after a trip to New Orleans and scattering the ashes of her father, who had died on the boat trip back to Catalonia, off the coast of Galicia, María lived in several Catalan towns before entering, more than 20 years ago, the nursing home where a friend and cousin of her husband lived at the time.
With information from EFE
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2024-08-22 03:37:07
