BIOGRAPHY

Besseling-Levers was born as Johanna Maria Levers in the small town of Zwillbrock, Germany, located very close to the Dutch border, as the daughter of Bernard Heinrich Levers and Maria Katharina te Woorst. Her father was a butcher.

On 9 November 1932, Besseling-Levers married her husband, Johannes Hendrikus “Hein” Besseling, in Groenlo, Gelderland. She was widowed on 9 October 1969 after almost 37 years of marriage, and later moved to Ruurlo, a town also located in Gelderland.

Besseling-Levers died in Ruurlo on 14 September 2019 at the age of 110 years, 34 days. She was the fifth-oldest person in the Netherlands.

RECOGNITION

Besseling-Levers became the oldest inhabitant of Gelderland following the 14 March 2015 death of 108-year-old Clara Buitenkamp-de Roos, and held that title for over four years. After her own death, Gelderland’s oldest living person became Cornelia Boonstra-van der Bijl, who was then almost 109 years old.

Besseling-Levers’ age was verified by Marco Wikkerink, Pettrik Kafoe, and Sipke de Boer, and was validated by the ESO on 7 May 2020.

ATTRIBUTION

* Open Archieven

* “Oudste inwoner van Gelderland uit Ruurlo overleden op 110-jarige leeftijd” – Tubantia, 17 September 2019

GALLERY