BIOGRAPHY

Fernande Bloquet was born in Derchigny, Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France, on 18 May 1911. She was the daughter of Louis Vallerre (1877–1925), a tinsmith, and Zélie Boudin. Before marrying, her father served as a worker in the naval artillery. He was transferred to Brest, where her two brothers, Henri and Maurice, were born in 1913 and 1914, respectively. Louis completed his military service in 1913 and began working as a plumber in 1914. He later found employment with the railways in Laval. In 1919, he retired to Rouen, and that same year, the family relocated to Neuville-lès-Dieppe, where they lived for many years.

In 1932, she married Paul Costentin, who was three years her senior, and they had at least one son together. After their divorce in 1950, she married Sylvain Bloquet in Dieppe in 1952. Upon retirement, the couple settled in the Toulon region, where they cared for her elderly mother, Zélie. Her mother passed away in 1984 at the age of 95, and her husband died shortly thereafter.

Around the age of 100, she moved into the Maison des Augustines retirement home in Meaux, where she spent the rest of her life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she refused to be vaccinated against both the flu and COVID-19. On her 110th birthday, the Mayor of Meaux, Jean-François Copé, visited her at the nursing home.

Fernande Bloquet passed away in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, on 19 February 2022, at the age of 110 years, 277 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age was validated by the European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO) on 18 June 2024. The validation has yet to be recognized by LongeviQuest.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Seine-et-Marne : la doyenne de Meaux a 110 ans” – Actu, 26 May 2021

* “Décès de Fernande Bloquet” – Les Grands Centenaires Français, 18 March 2022

GALLERY