BIOGRAPHY

Stefan was born as Erzsébet Molnár in Szabolcsveresmart, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, present-day Hungary, on 13 May 1895 as the daughter of József and Paulina (Tarczi) Molnár. She had five siblings: Emma, Mari, Eleonóra, József Jr., and Géza. Her eldest sister emigrated to the United States aged 18; Stefan did the same via Ellis Island, arriving on Christmas Eve 1913, and settling in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

On 3 November 1917, Stefan married a fellow Hungarian immigrant, miner András (Andrew) Stefán, who had travelled halfway across the country looking for work. The couple had three children: Andrew, Stephen, and Grace. Andrew, the eldest, passed away at seven years old, following a car crash.

Stefan retired at the age of 63. Her husband was bedridden for 17 years prior to his death due to illness from working in the mines, eventually dying in 1969 from black lung disease.

Stefan never smoked nor drank alcohol. She moved to Norwalk, Connecticut in 1987 to live with her son, remaining there for the rest of her life. At the time of her 110th birthday in 2005, her vision and hearing were deteriorating. Her second son, Stephen, died in 2006 aged 86.

Stefan died on 9 April 2008 at the age of 112 years, 332 days. She was survived by her daughter Grace, as well as four grandchildren and one great-grandson.

RECOGNITION

Following the death of Emma Tillman, the world’s oldest person, on 28 January 2007, Stefan became Connecticut’s oldest known resident. Upon her own death, the title passed to Irma Schmidt (1898 – 2011).

At the time of her death, Stefan was the eighth-oldest person in the world and the fifth-oldest in the United States whose age has been validated.

Stefan’s age was verified by Filipe Prista Lucas (GRG), as well as Dr. Andrew Holmes and Tamás Bényei (ESO), and was validated by each organisation on 12 June 2006 and 14 June 2021 respectively.

ATTRIBUTION

• Norwalk woman turns 112 on Mother’s Day News 12 – Connecticut, 14 May 2007

• Elhunyt a legidősebb magyar Blikk
• Elizabeth Molnar Stefan Find a Grave

GALLERY