BIOGRAPHY

Holblinger was born Annabelle Rosenberger in Callicoon, Sullivan County, New York, USA, on 16 March 1909. She was born as one of seven children to parents George Karl Rosenberger Sr. (1863–1961) and Wilhelmine Schubert (1873–1938). Her siblings were: Barbara Ryan (1896–1992), Olive Donohue (1898–1994), George Karl Rosenberger Jr. (1900–1972), William Rosenberger (1903–1992), Leo M. Rosenberger (1906–1998), and Mae Kratz (1911–2015). All four of her grandparents were born in Germany, and immigrated to the United States. She grew up on a farm in Callicoon. As a teenager, she left the farm and moved to Manhattan, New York. There, she worked as a domestic helper for a wealthy family until she got married.

In 1932, she married Austrian-born Anton Holblinger (1905–1996), an electrical contractor. The couple had two daughters. For some time, they lived in the Bronx and Long Island. During her life, she worked as a homemaker, receptionist, and occasional radio repairwoman for her husband’s business. When her daughters became teenagers, she got a job at Macy’s, first in the appliance department and later in woman’s clothing. Her husband died in 1996.

One of the siblings, Mae Kratz (1911–2015) lived to be 104 and three other siblings lived into their 90s. Her father lived to be 97. Her paternal cousin Marie Isabelle Graebner Zalesky (1907–2016) died at the age of 109.

Annabelle Holblinger died in Pueblo West, Colorado, USA, on 27 January 2023, at the age of 113 years, 317 days.

RECOGNITION

Following the death of 111-year-old Hazel Eikermann on 27 August 2019, Holblinger became the oldest known person living in Colorado, at the age of 110.

Holblinger may have become the oldest Colorado resident in history on 23 February 2021, having surpassed Mayree Dougherty‘s final age of 111 years, 343 days. Thus, Holblinger might be the only person in Colorado to live to be 112 and 113.

Her age was verified by Stefan Maglov, and validated by LongeviQuest on 11 January 2023.

At the time of her death, she was the fourth-oldest validated living person in the United States, after Edie Ceccarelli, Hazel Plummer, and Nina Willis.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Colorado’s oldest woman just turned 113. Her daughter reflects on her life.” – CPR News, 19 March 2022

* “Rosenberger matriarch passes at 113 years old” – Sullivan County Democrat, 31 January 2023

* Annabelle Rosenberger Holblinger – Find A Grave

GALLERY