BIOGRAPHY

Berthe Budet was born in La Serratella, Valencian Community, Spain, on 3 October 1909, to parents Bautista Salès y Roda (1876–1937) and Francisca Eusebia Exposito (1878–1937). She had three older siblings: Francisco Benjamin (1902–1984), Rosario (born 1904), and Alfred (born 1907). She arrived from Spain at the age of 2 and grew up in Rochefort-du-Gard. She was barely 10 years old when she began helping her parents work in the fields.

On 4 July 1936, at the age of 26, she married Aimé Gaston Budet (1906–1986) in Monoblet, Gard, France. The couple had a son, Francis, born in 1938. The couple endured a long separation when her husband was captured in Dunkirk and spent seven years in captivity. She was left to raise their son on her own for many years. After World War II, the family settled in Rochefort in 1946. Her husband worked as a road mender, while she ran the grocery store next to the church for 25 years, operating seven days a week. She continued this until 1973. Her husband passed away in 1986, aged 80.

At the age of 110, she had three grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandson. At the time, she resided at the Henri-Granet residence in Aramon, where the staff described her as a charming, flirtatious individual with a great sense of humor.

Berthe Budet passed away in Aramon, Gard, Occitanie, France, on 10 October 2021, at the age of 112 years, 7 days.

RECOGNITION

Budet’s age was verified by Cyril Depoudent and validated by the ESO on 17 November 2020.

ATTRIBUTION

* Brigida SALÈS EXPOSITA – geneanet

* “La doyenne Berthe Budet a célébré ses cent deux printemps en famille” – Midi Libre, 6 October 2011

* “La doyenne, Berthe Budet, a fêté ses 109 ans” – Midi Libre, 9 October 2018

* “Vidéo : Mamé Berthe, la doyenne du Gard, a fêté ses 110 ans” – La Provence, 4 October 2019

* “La doyenne du Gard Mamé Budet a rejoint les étoiles à 112 ans” – Midi Libre, 13 October 2021

GALLERY