Maria Alaíde Menezes was born in Sergipe, Brazil, on 5 July 1912. Her parents were cousins and had eight children, Maria Alaíde (who was the eldest child), José “Juca”, Antonio, Athaíde, João, Ubaldina, Celina and Aldeíde. She enrolled in a local elementary school at the age of 7.
She got married and had 3 children: José Evaristo, Elizabete and Maria da Conceição, the latter of whom died in a car accident with her 17-year-old son. When her husband died, Alaíde no longer wanted to get married. She taught for 30 years and is now a retired teacher.
In 1933, she participated in emancipation where the city of Ribeirópolis became independent of the municipality of Itabaiana. She was responsible for reading the municipality’s emancipation letter.
In March 1989, a municipal school in Ribeirópolis was founded and named after her.
Her age was validated by Filipe Lopes and Stefan Maglov, and validated by LongeviQuest on 17 June 2023, becoming the first validated supercentenarian from the state of Sergipe.
* “Alaíde Menezes – 100 Anos” – YouTube, 1 August 2012
* “Secretário de Estado da Educação recebe medalha de Honra ao Mérito da Prefeitura de Ribeirópolis” – Secretaria de Estado da Educação, 19 December 2018
* “Nesta terça (26), visitei a professora aposentada Maria Alaíde Menezes para entregar a Medalha do Mérito Educacional…” – Facebook (Georgeo Passos), 26 November 2019