Adele Samuelson, possibly the oldest living person in Israel, passed away in Mikhmoret on 25 October, at the claimed age of 111 years, 24 days. Her passing was first reported by Belaaz.
Samuelson claimed to have been born in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, on 1 October 1914. She was the eldest of seven children and the last surviving one. She spent her early childhood in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, before moving to Cape Town, where she lived for most of her life until 1979. She left school early to help support her family, later attending college to study shorthand, typing, and office administration, which became her lifelong career. In 1945, she married Skea (Yehezkel) Samuelson after meeting him on a Zionist youth camp hike, and they had two daughters, Ilana and Gail.
Before marrying, she attempted to immigrate to Israel (then Mandatory Palestine) in 1943 but faced permit issues. Traveling ahead of her fiancé on a difficult voyage aboard the SS Kościuszko, she reached Kibbutz Kfar Blum, where she lived for a year before returning to South Africa due to his mother’s illness.
In 1979, the couple moved to Israel to join their daughters. There, she worked for 18 years as the English secretary to the president of Tel Aviv University and assisted its legal department. She often returned to South Africa to visit family, including one final trip in her mid-90s to mark her late sister’s 98th birthday.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of Adele Samuelson during this difficult time.
