BIOGRAPHY

Richard was born as Maria Huart in Muno, Luxembourg, Belgium, on 28 November 1900. She was married to a navvy, with whom she had two children, Maurice and Jacqueline. The couple later divorced.

During World War II, Richard fled with her children on foot for a great distance to locate a train station that had not been affected by bombing. A train was eventually able to take them to Gignac, in Hérault department, southern France. Richard returned to Belgium after the war’s end, and then relocated back to Hérault in 1961, after her retirement, to be closer to her son.

In 1995, Richard moved to Béziers to live with her daughter and son-in-law. She was moved into a nursing home in 2010 as a result of her daughter’s health concerns. Her son, Maurice, moved into the same nursing home in 2012, and the pair shared a room.

At the age of 111, Richard was reported to still be mentally sharp and strong-willed, refusing the media when she became mainland France’s oldest resident. Her son and daughter were 90 and 81 at the time. She was wheelchair-bound and partially blind.

Richard died on 11 October 2012 at the age of 111 years, 318 days. She was survived by her son and her daughter, as well as her 60-year-old grandson, two great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

Richard was believed to have become the oldest living Frenchwoman after the death of 112-year-old Paule Bronzini, but the subsequent discovery of Martinique’s Irénise Moulonguet (1900 – 2013) meant that she never actually held this title. She did, however, hold the title of the oldest living person in mainland France.

Richard’s age was verified by Luc Le Lay and Peter Vermaelen (GRG), as well as Anthony Croes-Lacroix and Antoine Demarais (ESO), and was validated by each organisation on 21 September 2011 and 20 October 2020 respectively.

ATTRIBUTION

• Maria Richard, âgée de 111 ans, est désormais la doyenne des Français Midi Libre, 9 September 2012

• Maria Richard, la doyenne des Français, est morte Libération, 11 October 2012

GALLERY