BIOGRAPHY

Marie-Noëlle Duhamel was born in Hersin-Coupigny, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France, France on 28 April 1912. Her parents were Albert Dehay and Therese Lefebvre (1887–1989). Her mother lived to the age of 101.

On 24 December 1935, she married André Charles Duhamel in Nœux-les-Mines. During World War II, her husband was taken prisoner by the Germans. They had met as students in Lille and used to take the train together back to Béthune, where they would reunite with their families. When the war began, they already had two children. Their third child was born in Versailles, followed by two more, including Jean-Dominique, the youngest, who tragically died at the age of 17. According to her, a cure for his illness was discovered just two years after his death.

During the war, she raised their children alone while waiting for her husband’s return. While he was a prisoner, she received only a half of her husband’s salary, leaving the family with little money. When the Americans liberated the prisoners, André returned to Paris, emaciated and weak. She recalled that he was “as thin as a rail,” and they had to help him gradually regain his strength through proper nutrition. Her husband passed away in 1976.

On 4 May 1993, she moved to the Retirement Home of the Augustinian Sisters in Versailles.

Marie-Noëlle Duhamel died in Versailles, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France, on 11 September 2023, at the age of 111 years, 136 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by Cyril Depoudent of the Les Grands Centenaires Français, and validated by the ESO on 29 May 2022.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Quelques précisions sur Marie-Noëlle Duhamel” – Les Grands Centenaires Français, 14 October 2019

* “Maison de retraite des Augustines : il y fait bon vivre !” – Toutes les Nouvelles de Versailles, 5 May 2021

* Marie-Noëlle Duhamel : la doyenne de Versailles – Versailles, April 2022 (page 49)

* “Marie-Noëlle DUHAMEL” – Le Figaro, 15 September 2023

GALLERY