Alice Östlund

BIOGRAPHY

Alice Östlund was born in Jättendal, Gävleborg, Sweden, on 8 December 1906. She was the eldest daughter of Beda Kristina Wallman from Gnarp and Lars August Olsson, a carpenter from Jättendal who worked on the Inlandsbanan railway. Due to her father’s work, the family had to move frequently. Later in life, when reflecting on her childhood, she had mixed feelings—at times, food was scarce, and the children had to walk long distances to school. When asked about her childhood Christmases, she said: “They were nothing at all. We lived so remotely and barely celebrated Christmas. There was a little extra food, that was all. When I was a child, we lived in poverty-stricken Sweden. And then came the World War. I was eight years old then.”

In her twenties, she left Hälsingland and moved to Vänersborg. In 1934, she married Bernhard Östlund. The couple later settled in Trollhättan and Vargön, within the municipality of Vänersborg. The couple had no children.

In 1981, Alice returned to Trollhättan and, at the age of 75, moved into an apartment in the city center.

In November 2007, she became a regular radio correspondent for Swedish Radio (SR) channel P4 Väst after winning one of the station’s contests, The 120-lappen. She remarked that she wanted the prize money to buy saffron buns for her 101st birthday party. Employees at the local radio station kept in touch with Alice and, in 2010, decided to bring her on as a regular contributor. She participated every Wednesday morning, almost until the very end. According to channel manager Peter Sundblad, she was beloved by listeners. Throughout her time on air, she shared numerous anecdotes from her long life.

Some of the advice she shared was to laugh often. The second most important thing, she said, was to “take care of yourself.” By this, she meant maintaining good habits—getting enough sleep, eating healthy meals at regular times, and being mindful of alcohol consumption. She mentioned that she had never had a beer in her entire life, though she did enjoy a small glass of wine from time to time.

Alice Östlund passed away in Trollhättan, Västra Götaland, Sweden, on 28 March 2018, at the age of 111 years, 110 days.

RECOGNITION

On 26 May 2017, following the passing of 110-year-old Nanny Halvardsson, she became the oldest living person in Sweden, at the age of 110 years, 169 days. On 22 July 2017, following the passing of Ellen Brandenborg (Denmark), she became the oldest resident of the Nordic Countries. Upon her own passing, she was succeeded (both titles) by Carl Mattsson.

Östlund’s age was verified by Jimmy Lindberg and validated by the ESO on 26 February 2020.

ATTRIBUTION

* “105 jular har Alice firat” – Sveriges Radio, 21 December 2011

* “108-åriga Alice tycker att varje dag är intressant” – Sveriges Radio, 9 December 2014

* “Alice Östlund har avlidit – hon blev 111 år” – Söderhamns-Kuriren, 28 March 2018

* “Alice, 111, fick ny karriär – vid 104” – Expressen, 1 April 2018

GALLERY

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