BIOGRAPHY

Von Reeken was born at Stickgras, in Delmenhorst, Lower Saxony, Germany on 9 October 1912. She attended both elementary and secondary school there. She then went to the women’s techincal school in Bremen before finding employment on an estate in Berne, a municipality of Lower Saxony.

It was in Berne that Von Reeken met her husband, Georg; the couple were married in 1933. Her husband was the principal at the town of Idafehn’s adult education centre. The Von Reekens raised their six children on a small farm that joined onto the teachers’ house.

At the start of World War II, Von Reeken’s husband was drafted into the army and was taken prisoner. Two years after the conflict’s end, he was released and returned home. In 1955, the family relocated to Dangastermoor, a town in Varel, Lower Saxony, where Georg von Reeken became the principal of the local elementary school. Both were avid gymnasts.

Following her husband’s death in 2000, Von Reeken moved into an apartment in an assisted living facility in Varel. In her centenarian years, she claimed the secret to her longevity was plentiful vegetables, partaking in gymnastics, and breathing fresh air. On her 110th birthday, relatives from as far afield as Namibia came to celebrate the occasion.

Von Reeken died on 16 April 2023 at the age of 110 years, 189 days. She was survived by 10 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

Von Reeken’s age was verified by Georg Fürholzer and validated by LongeviQuest on 11 April 2024.

ATTRIBUTION

GALLERY