October 2023

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Elizabeth Lucas at 111 years old. She was an American supercentenarian born on 6 April 1909 in Belle Vernon Pennsylvania, USA.

Her father was a coal miner while her mother was a mail-order bride. Elizabeth had ten siblings and the family lived in a two-story, two-bedroom frame house, where the children shared a single room.

Her school days ended after completing the sixth grade. When she was 13 years old, a priest would take her and the other girls from the area to work as cleaners for rich people in Pittsburgh. The Belle Vernon girls would return home via trolley every Friday and Elizabeth would give her small pay to her mother to help with the expenses.

At the age of 106.
(Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

On 12 February 1936, she was married to Walter Edward Lucas with whom she had three children with.

In 2005, she moved into a nursing home. Elizabeth Lucas passed away on 15 December 2020 in Steubenville, Ohio, USA, due to COVID-19.

For more information, please view Elizabeth Lucas’ Directory Profile here.

It is with a heavy heart for LongeviQuest to share that Jaak Broekx, the oldest man from Belgium, passed away at 109 years old. He was a Belgian centenarian who was the title holder for being the country’s oldest man at the time of his death.

Henricus Petrus Jacobus (Jaak) Broekx was born on 6 August 1914 in Bree, Limburg, Belgium.

Jaak spent his entire life working as a farmer until he was 100 years old. He never had a wife nor any children. He lived with his sister Christine until she passed away on 14 March 2015, when she was 97 years old.

As a young man.
(Photo credit: rv/Greet Henderix)

In 2020, Jaak moved into a nursing home as he was unable to maintain an independent life because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The nursing home reported that he was never ill during his stay with them. However, during his last moments, he was already using a wheelchair and was hard of hearing. On a positive note, he remained mentally sharp until he passed away.

Broekx died in a peaceful manner after falling asleep. He passed away in the morning of 31 October 2023 in Bree, Limberg, Belgium, at the age of 109 years old.

At the time of his death, he was the oldest living man in Belgium.

LongeviQuest extends our deepest condolences to the bereaved family and friends of Jaak Broekx.

For more information, please visit Jaak Broekx‘s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is delighted to report the age validation of Fern Preston of the United States at age 110. She was born in Lorain, Ohio, United States on 24 June 1908. She was a wife and a mother to 4 sons.

Preston graduated from Lakeview High School in 1926 as part of the third graduating class. Throughout her life, she worked at Squire Music making violin strings, in the Lakeview High School cafeteria, and as a homemaker raising her children.

(Source: Farley Estes and Dowdle Funeral Directors)

Preston passed away in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA, on 4 November 2018, at the age of 110 years, 133 days. She was survived by two sons, nine grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

LongeviQuest congratulates Fern Preston’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Preston’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Marie LeVan of the United States at age 111. She was born in Franklin Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States on 3 September 1908.

LeVan graduated from the University of Saint Joseph in 1936 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She went on to earn Master of Arts and Master of Education degrees from Trinity College and the University of Hartford, respectively. LeVan also pursued further graduate studies at the Southern University of Connecticut and the Gesell Institute in New Haven.

As a young woman.
(Source: Record-Journal)

LeVan was a dedicated educator who spent her career teaching a variety of subjects. This includes teaching English, French, Latin, American History, and Psychology. She also served as Dean of Girls, School Psychologist, and Director of Pupil Personnel in the Meriden School System. In 2016, she received recognition for her 70 years of active membership and leadership from Soroptimist International of the Americas, a service organization committed to improving the lives of women and girls. In 2018, she was recognized by the South Congregational Church as their longest-living member (having joined in 1924).

LeVan passed away in Meriden, Connecticut, USA, on 29 August 2019, five days shy of her 111th birthday.

LongeviQuest congratulates Marie LeVan’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view LeVan’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Aileen Kars of New Zealand at age 111. She was born in Tokomaru, Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand on 12 September 1913. At the moment, she is the country’s oldest living person.

Kars grew up helping her parents milk cows and shear sheep. She also attended Tokomaru School. There, she met and married her husband, who was a schoolmate whose family she used to socialize with. They had two sons and lived on a farm with cows and horses. Kars balanced her busy farm duties with raising her children. In 1993, she moved into a retirement community and gave up driving at the age of 95.

Undated.
(Source: 1News)

At the age of 110, she had three grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren.

For more information, please view Mrs. Kars’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Hazel Nilson of the United States at age 111. She was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States on 21 August 1908 to German-born parents. After high school, she and her future husband enrolled in a physical education school affiliated with Indiana University. They married in 1932 and had two sons. In 1964, they retired to a house on Stone Lake in Wisconsin.

With her husband.
(Source: apg-wi.com)

Nilson kept driving until she was 104 and lived independently until she moved to New Hampshire at 106. She was a devout member of the First Lutheran Church of Stone Lake and led exercise classes at her assisted living facility. Nilson also regularly attended the Kearsarge Community Presbyterian Church in New London, New Hampshire.

Nilson passed away after a short hospitalization in Sunapee, New Hampshire, USA, on 20 November 2019, at the age of 111 years, 91 days. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living person in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. She was survived by two daughters-in-law, six grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.

LongeviQuest congratulates Hazel Nilson’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Nilson’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is delighted to announce that Slovenia’s oldest living person turned 111 years old. On her 111th birthday, Julijana Zakrajšek became the first person in Slovenia to reach the age of 111.

Zakrajšek was born into a large peasant family in Opalkovo, Slovenia, in 1912. She had five sisters and four brothers, and her mother lived to be 89. As a young woman, she moved to Ljubljana to learn how to knit.

As a young woman.
(Source: svet24)

Zakrajšek never married because of World War II. Her boyfriend was drafted at the beginning of the war and never returned. She spent most of her adult life working in Ljubljana. When she retired, Zakrajšek moved back to Opalkovo to live with her sister. In 2011, they moved in with their niece in Podulaka.

Zakrajšek became the oldest living person on 7 March 2019, in Slovenia following the death of 109-year-old Matilda Serec.

In October 2022, she celebrated her 110th birthday, becoming the second woman in Slovenia to reach supercentenarian status, after Katarina Marinič (1899–2010).

On 2 June 2023, at the age of 110 years, 217 days, she surpassed Niko Dragoš‘s age, becoming the second-oldest person to ever live in Slovenia. On 1 September 2023, at the age of 110 years, 308 days, she surpassed Marinič’s final age, becoming the oldest person to ever live in Slovenia.

In October 2023, she celebrated her 111th birthday, becoming the first person in Slovenia to reach the age of 111, and the second Slovenian person to reach this age, behind Sophie Hules (1909–2020), who passed away in the United States.

For more information, please view Julijana Zakrajšek’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Dorothy McClements of the United States at age 110. She was born in Stillwater, New York, United States on 7 May 1909. She was a sister, a wife, and a mother to 8 children. When McClements was young, she worked in a sock factory in Stillwater. Later, she got a job as a maid at Leonard Hospital.

In her later years, McClements attended Mass every Sunday at All Saints on the Hudson in Mechanicville until she was unable to do so. However, she continued to receive Communion each week through home visits. When she was 98, she fell and broke her hip. At first, a surgeon was concerned about operating on her due to her age and the potential for problems with recovery and rehabilitation. But he later changed his mind because she was in such good physical condition. As of her 109th birthday, she had 151 descendants. She credited her long life to living a clean life, which included eating a lot of vegetables and not smoking or drinking.

On her 110th birthday.
(Source: Facebook/Kumi Tucker WNYT)

McClements passed away in Stillwater, New York, USA, on 1 February 2020, at the age of 110 years, 270 days. She was survived by all eight of her children, 40 grandchildren, and many more descendants, including great-great-grandchildren.

LongeviQuest congratulates Dorothy McClements’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view McClements’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Genevieve Duffy of the United States at age 111. She was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States on 9 May 1908. She was a sister, a wife, and a mother to 1 daughter

In an interview, Duffy recalled peering through holes in a fence to watch scenes being filmed at Pathe Films in Jersey City. She and her childhood friends often sat on the curb outside the studios and ended up appearing in the background of silent films. Duffy attended nursing school outside of Philadelphia. She then returned to her home state to work as an obstetrics nurse. Following her marriage in the 1930s, she decided to leave her job to become a stay-at-home mother. During this time, Duffy occasionally took on private nursing assignments.

Throughout her life.
(Source: LifeBridge Health)

In her 50s, Duffy returned to the workforce. She took a job in a home furnishings store and developed a keen interest in interior design. In her 70s, Duffy frequently prepared evening meals for the nuns at St. John Catholic Church in Westminster. She also walks daily to attend Mass.

Duffy passed away in Westminster, Maryland, USA, on 28 June 2019, at the age of 111 years, 50 days. She was survived by her daughter, two grandsons, and six great-grandchildren. At the time of her death, Duffy was the second-oldest known living person in the U.S. state of Maryland, behind Downing Kay.

LongeviQuest congratulates Genevieve Duffy’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Mrs. Duffy’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is delighted to announce the age validation of Goldie Small of the United States at age 110. She was born in Paris, New York, United States, on 1 April 1908. Small grew up on the family farm in Paris, where she attended a one-room schoolhouse until the eighth grade. She then completed high school in Waterville, New York.

In 1927, Small graduated from the Eastman School of Dental Hygiene in Rochester. She worked as a dental hygienist for a short time but lost her job during the Great Depression, when people could no longer afford dental care. In 1941, Small got married, and together they had two children. The family moved to New Milford, Pennsylvania, where Small lived for the next 70 years.

(Source: JA McCormack Sons Funeral Home Inc)

Small was very involved in her community. She is an active member of the United Methodist Church, the Eastern Star, and the New Milford Library, where she served as librarian for over 30 years. She stopped driving at the age of 102 and moved to an independent living apartment at Good Shepherd Village in Endwell.

Small passed away in Endwell, New York, USA, on 20 March 2019, at the age of 110 years, 353 days. She was survived by her two children, six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

LongeviQuest congratulates Goldie Small’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Mrs. Small’s Directory Profile here.