Anna Rauch-Lichtensteiger

BIOGRAPHY

Anna Rauch was born and raised on a farm in St. Margarethen, , St. Gallen Canton, on 17 August 1912, as the second eldest of five children. Her mother died in her 90s. In 1919, her family moved to Islikon, and a few years later, they began managing both a farm and a restaurant in Hagenwil. In 1938, she married and relocated to Uttwil to be with her husband, where they ran a farm together and had two children. When her husband passed away in 1955, she faced the difficult task of managing the farm and raising her children on her own. Though this was a challenging period, her faith gave her strength and helped her adapt to life’s circumstances.

At the age of 75, she moved to Sirnach to live with her daughter. Despite having spent nearly 50 years in Uttwil, she didn’t feel homesick, and she embraced her new life by taking up gardening in her daughter’s large garden as a hobby. At the age of 109, she moved to the Tannzapfenland Regional Senior Center in Münchwilen. She enjoyed reading the newspaper and kept a close eye on world events. Even into her centenarian years, she continued to vote.

Anna Rauch-Lichtensteiger passed away in Sirnach, Thurgau, Switzerland, on 19 January 2023.

RECOGNITION

At the time of her passing, she was the second-oldest living person in Switzerland, after Marie Guerne.

Her age has not been validated.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Die älteste Thurgauerin feiert Geburtstag: «Ich nehme es so, wie es kommt, denn ändern kann ich es sowieso nicht»” – Thurgauer Zeitung, 3 September 2022

GALLERY

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