LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Izabel Emiliana de Oliveira at 112 years old. She was a Brazilian supercentenarian who was the oldest documented person who died in Rio Grande do Norte.
Izabel Emiliana de Oliveira was born on 26 August 1900 in Parelhas, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Her father Felix Gomes was one of the founders of the city of Parelhas where she worked as a farmer.
As a young woman. (Source: Wanderley Filho (YouTube))
Izabel de Oliveira had nine children three of whom died in infancy. When she was celebrating her 110th birthday, she lived with three of her children in Varzea do Barro community, Parelhas.
Izabel Emiliana de Oliveira passed away on 4 May 2013 in Parelhas, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. She was 112 years and 251 days old at the time of her death.
For more information, please view Izabel Emiliana de Oliveira’s Directory Profile here.
LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Shirō Moriyama at 111 years old. He was a Japanese supercentenarian known as the oldest-living man in Hokkaido Prefecture at the time of his death.
Shirō Moriyama was born on 6 March 1911 in Shizunai, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.
In May 2010, aged 99. (Source: Shinhidaka)
He worked for the Japanese National Railways and then became a farmer to raise vegetables and racehorses. Shiro retired from farming in his 50s to start mountain climbing as a hobby. He climbed mountains all over the country, which includes the Hidaka Mountains and Mount Fuji, until he was in his 80s.
Shiro moved into a local nursing home in 2014 where he enjoyed watching live horse racing and talking with the other residents. Shirō Moriyama passed away on 19 March 2022 in Shinhidaka, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, due to natural causes.
For more information, please view Shirō Moriyama’s Directory Profile here.
LongeviQuest is delighted to announce the age validation of Namie Takaki at 111 years old. She was a Japanese supercentenarian known as the second-oldest living person in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Namie Takaki was born on 11 October 1908 in Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. She heard from her parents that because she was so frail at birth, they thought she would not survive. She was only 100 cm at the age of 7 years old.
Her family moved to Taiwan in 1917 when it was still occupied by Japan because of her father’s job as a police officer. She got her teaching degree in Taiwan where she worked as an elementary school teacher in Taichung. Mrs. Takaki taught Japanese to about 1,000 first and second-graders at that time.
She decided to quit her job after being married to a police officer and had their first daughter. Her husband was arrested as a war criminal after World War II. Since then, Namie and her daughter moved from one evacuation center to another until they returned to Japan in 1946.
In 2016, aged 107. (Source: Asahi Shimbun)
When her husband passed away in 1976, Namie tried to connect with her former students in Taiwan. However, their communications were shut due to the 1999 Taiwan earthquake. She reconnects again through a letter that she wrote when she was 107. This time, the Taiwanese media picked up their stories and shared their reunion which became a hot topic in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese Consulate General and Taipei Economic and Cultural Affairs Office appreciate Namie’s friendships with her past students which created a bond of friendship between Japan and Taiwan.
Namie Takaki passed away on 28 February 2020 in Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, at the age of 111 years and 140 days.
For more information, please view Namie Takaki’s Directory Profile here.
LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Effie Pampaian at 110 years old. She was a Canadian-born American supercentenarian known as the second-oldest living person in Washington at the time of her death.
Effie Pampaian was born on 16 May 1910 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, as Effie May Hale.
At the age of 29. (Source: Gerontology Wiki)
At a very young age, she moved to the United States where she graduated from college. She got her degree from Walla Walla University in Washington in 1939. Later on her life, she received an honorary degree in history in 2014.
Effie Pampaian passed away on 3 December 2020 in College Place, Washington, USA, at the age of 110 years old.
For more information, please view Effie Pampaian’s Directory Profile here.
LongviQuest is delighted to announce that Alma Leuthner’s age of 110 years old has been validated. She was an American supercentenarian known as the third-oldest living person in Minnesota, USA, at the time of her death.
Alma Leuthner was born on 19 May 1910 in Long Prairie, Minnesota, USA. She studied music along with her three sisters from the local nuns, where Alma learned to play the piano and the violin. She graduated from Long Prairie High School and then attended St. Cloud College of Business in the late 1920s.
At the age of 18. (Source: Alexandria Echo Press)
In 1930, she met her future husband after moving to Alexandria, Minnesota. She later married John Leuthner on 1 May 1933 and the couple had three children together.
When she was 98 years old, she stopped driving and then moved into a nursing home.
Alma Leuthner passed away on 9 October 2020 at Knute Nelson Care Center in Alexandria, Minnesota, USA. She was 110 years old at the time of her death and the third-oldest living person in Minnesota after Erna Zahn and Opal Johnson.
For more information, please view Alma Leuthner’s Directory Profile here.
LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Koshika Kasū at 111 years old. She was a Japanese supercentenarian recognized as the second-oldest living person in Okayama Prefecture at the time of her death.
Koshika Kasū was born on 16 March 1908 in Honjō Village, Okayama Prefecture, Japan.
At some point in her life, she got married to someone from the Forestry Bureau. Because of her husband’s nature of work, they were often transferred to places such as Yamaguchi and Osaka. During their stay at Osaka, she worked as a seamstress in a tailor’s shop. After the Osaka Air Raids in 1945, Koshika’s family returned to Okayama.
On her 100th birthday in 2008. (Source: Sanyo Shimbun)
Her hobby was sewing and so she made an apron theater with the help of her friends. She then donated it to her community center library.
Koshika Kasū passed away on 2 October 2019 in Setouchi, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. At the age of 111 years and 200 days, she was the second-oldest living person in the prefecture at the time of her death.
For more information, please view Koshika Kasū’s Directory Profile here.
LongeviQuest is pleased to confirm that Elizabeth Francis recently celebrated her birthday on 30 July 2023, five days after her actual birthday at the age of 114 years old. Mrs. Francis is the world’s seventh oldest validated living person (behind María Branyas Morera, Fusa Tatsumi, Edie Ceccarelli,Tomiko Itooka,Inah Canabarro Lucas and Juan Vicente Pérez Mora), the second oldest validated living person in the United States (behind Edie Ceccarelli), and the oldest known living person in Texas.
LongeviQuest CEO Ben Meyers, Oldest Living Texan Mrs. Elizabeth Francis, and her granddaughter Mrs. Ethel Harrison
She celebrated her 114th Birthday in Houston, Texas, United States in the company of many family members, church members, the CEO and director of LongeviQuest; Mr. Ben Meyers, local politicians, local media, and two journalists from Norway who traveled specifically for the occasion. She was celebrated with flowers, a delicious cake, and numerous birthday wishes from fans and researchers across the world were conveyed to her family and to Mrs. Francis herself.
Mrs. Francis surrounded by family members including granddaughter (left) and daughter (right)
Mrs. Francis was active and alert during the entire event, holding court for over four hours and receiving a parade of well-wishers. She was accompanied most of the time by her 94-year-old daughter. Her family was very touched that so many people worldwide appreciate their beloved “Queen Elizabeth of Houston,” a new affectionate used by her loved ones. When asked for life advice by a visitor, Mrs. Francis replied, “If the Good Lord give it to you, use it! Speak your mind, don’t bite your tongue!”
Houston News Anchor Melanie Lawson, Oldest Living Texan Mrs. Elizabeth Francis, her granddaughter Mrs. Ethel Harrison, and LongeviQuest CEO Ben Meyers
LongeviQuest deeply thanks and appreciates Mrs. Francis’ family to give LongeviQuest permission to visit her, particularly her granddaughter Ethel Harrison. It was an honor for all of us.
We deeply appreciate and thank to our photographer Mr. Emmanuel Rodriguez (@supermannyphoto) for the beautiful photos.
Elizabeth Francis’ Biography
Mrs. Elizabeth Francis was born in Louisiana, USA on 25 July 1909. Early in her life, she moved to Houston, Texas.
In the 1970s, she ran the coffee shop at Houston TV station KTRK-TV. When asked about the secret of her longevity, she replied that it is her faith in God. At the time of her 112th birthday, she had three grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. In July 2023, aged 114, she lived with her 94-year-old daughter.
Francis’s sister Bertha Johnson (1904–2011) lived to the age of 106, making them one of the oldest sibling pairs.
For more information, please view Elizabeth Francis’s Directory Profile here.
LongeviQuest recently reviewed the case of Mr. Denzō Ishizaki of Japan – a previously validated supercentenarian who held the titles of the world’s oldest living man and Japan’s oldest man ever at the time of his passing in 1999, at the age of 112.
His age had previously been validated by the Gerontology Research Group. However, upon reviewing the documentation, the Global Validation Commission concluded that his validated date of birth was incorrect. For about two decades, since GRG’s validation, it was believed that Ishizaki was born on October 20, 1886. The evidence located by two LongeviQuest Japan researchers, Ryohei Asano and Yumi Yamamoto, shows that Ishizaki was older than what was previously believed.
Based on information from the family register and the National Directory of Senior Citizens, the Commission concluded that his actual birthdate was October 2, 1886, meaning he was 18 days older. Therefore, his final age was not 112 years, 191 days, but 112 years, 209 days.
At the time of his passing, he was the oldest living man and person in Japan, the world’s oldest living man, and the oldest Japanese man ever. He was never recognized for these titles, as the claimed 120-year-old Shigechiyo Izumi was still believed to have been older, and it was not until 2011 that his validation was withdrawn.
LongeviQuest is saddened to report the passing of Louise Levy. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA on 1 November 1910 and passed away on 17 July 2023 in Rye, New York, USA at 112 years, 258 days. She became the oldest known living person in the U.S. state of New York on 11 August 2022, following the death of 111-year-old Sadie Rosenkrantz.
On her 112th birthday. (Source: MyRye.com)
Levy got married at 28 and the couple had two children. Levy worked as a secretary for her husband’s business for most of her life. She was a dedicated employee who continued to work even after her husband’s death. She retired in her 90s.
When asked about the secret of her longevity, she cited a healthy diet, especially yogurt.
LongeviQuest is extending our deepest condolences to the bereaved family and friends of Mrs. Louise Levy.
LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Mary Nixon at 111 years old. She was an Australian supercentenarian who was formerly the oldest living person in the country. She was also one of the earliest documented supercentenarians in Australia.
Mary Nixon was born on 17 March 1871 in Whitmore Square, Adelaide, South Australia. After her mother passed away, she helped her father raise her seven younger siblings. Sadly, her youngest brother was killed during World War I in France in 1916.
She married a bookmaker from North Adelaide named Albert William Nixon. Their wedding was on 16 December 1890 when she was 19 years old. The couple had seven children.
Nixon (seated on the left) with her family. (Source: Australian Family Tree Connections Magazine)
She attributed her longevity to eating plain food, working hard, and having a tight-knit family.
Mary Nixon passed away on 10 May 1982 in North Adelaide, South Australia. At the time of her death, she was 111 years old and was survived by 32 grandchildren, 106 great-grandchildren, and 108 great-great-grandchildren.
For more information, please view Mary Nixon’s Directory Profile here.
