Supercentenarian Profile

Avelina Lorenzo Berián

Born:

1911-11-11

Toro, Castile and León

Spain

Died:

2023-10-23

Zamora, Castile and León

Spain

Avelina Lorenzo Berián was a Spanish supercentenarian.

BIOGRAPHY

Avelina Lorenzo Berián was born in Toro, Castile and León, Spain on 11 November 1911, into a large family of ten children. The daughter of a judge, Miguel Lorenzo Limia, and his wife, Eladia Berián Enríquez. At the age of 17, after studying at Amor de Dios, she left Toro for the first time to prepare for a teaching degree in Zamora. At 23, in 1934, she secured a permanent position in Salamanca and stepped into her first classroom in the town of Valdenebro de los Valles, Valladolid. She lived in the schoolhouse.

Lorenzo Berián married Sinesio Ruiz-Zorrilla, and they shared over 60 years together. The couple had one daughter, Canto, when she was 47. The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War on 18 July 1936, caught her on vacation in Toro. She lost her brother Ramón at the front and another brother to illness. Her husband joined the ranks, but they managed to marry in Galicia. A year or so later, when his leave ended, he returned to service until 1939. She worked as a teacher for another ten years before focusing on managing her home and caring for her husband, who was an employee of Banco de Español de Crédito and Banesto. Together, they traveled throughout Spain and visited Italy and Portugal. In 1983, encouraged by her husband, she decided to return to teaching. She taught at schools in Ferreruela, Pereruela, and Sancho II in Zamora, and eventually retired in San Frontis. Her husband later suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, and passed away at the age of 82.

At the age of 110, her deafness prevented her from actively participating in conversations, but she still read the newspaper without glasses if the lighting was good; otherwise, she used a magnifying glass. Another hobby in her centenarian years was watching the TV show “Amar en tiempos revueltos.” She continued attending mass at the Church of San Torcuato and enjoyed walking, always accompanied. By that time, she was no longer allowed to use a walker for safety reasons and used a wheelchair instead. She had a grandson and two great-grandchildren who lived in Madrid.

Avelina Lorenzo Berián passed away in Zamora, Castile and Leon, Spain, on 23 October 2023, at the age of 111 years, 346 days.

RECOGNITION

On 25 January 2022, following the passing of 112-year-old Josefa San Román Mateos, she became the oldest living person in Castile and León, at the age of 110 years, 75 days. Upon her own passing, she was s\ucceeded by Ángeles de la Fuente Campo.

Her age has not been validated.