BIOGRAPHY

Maria Aulenbacher was born in a settlement on the Taunus mountain range in Hesse, Germany on 7 November 1909, as the eldest of six children born to parents Johannes and Maria Kremer. In 1937, she married August Aulenbacher, and the couple had two children together. When she was 36, her husband died during World War II, leaving her to raise her children alone. Throughout her life, she was very close to her sister, Susanne, who helped her raise her children after being widowed.

Aulenbacher remained active and independent well into old age, and continued to shop, perform household chores, and cook her own food as a centenarian. After her sister, Susanne, died unexpectedly in 2010, she chose to move to the United States to live with her daughter and son-in-law. At the time of her 113th birthday in 2022, she remained mentally lucid and could still walk with the aid of a walker. According to her family, she was a highly optimistic person who always preferred to see the “silver lining” in everything. As a supercentenarian, her hobbies included reading, needlepoint embroidery, and watching her great-grandson play soccer.

Maria Aulenbacher passed away in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, USA on 8 February 2023 at the age of 113 years, 93 days.

RECOGNITION

Aulenbacher’s age was verified by Georg Fürholzer, and was validated by LongeviQuest on 12 July 2024.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Century Club: Life of the party celebrates 100th” – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 17 November 2009

* “Carolina woman celebrates her 110th birthday” – WYFF, 9 November 2019

* “111-year-old, South Carolina’s oldest resident, receives COVID-19 vaccine” – Greenville Journal, 3 February 2021

* “Weihnachten bei der ältesten Deutschen (113)” – YouTube, 22 December 2022

* Obituary – Thomas McAffe Funeral Homes

GALLERY