BIOGRAPHY

Paulette Magné-Ducamin was born in the commune of Lelin-Lapujolle in the Gers department, Occitania, France, on 21 April 1912, to parents Auguste-Clément Pouey-Dicard and Marie-Jeanne Sébastine Ducamin. She had an older brother, Jean-Louis Pouey-Dicard (1907–2004). She never knew her father, who was mobilized in August 1914 and died in World War I in February 1916. His death had a significant impact on the family, and she often remarked that the consequences of the war profoundly shaped her life, creating a path that might have been different had this tragedy not occurred. She worked on the family farm during her youth. Despite the challenges of farm labor, she began working at the age of 12, even though she enjoyed school and excelled as a student.

At some point, she married Gaston Magné, with whom she had two children, Bernard and Annie. However, in 1950, she was widowed at the age of 38 and left to raise her children on her own. She worked for thirty years to maintain the farm, walking 2 kilometers every day. Her main concern, however, remained the education of her children, ensuring they could continue their studies and pursue a profession. At some point, she remarried Henri Ducamin.

At the age of 78, she finally retired, but her partner, Robert Mayer, had passed away not long before in 1989. She decided to leave the house in Lelin-Lapujolle, where she was born, to organize her new life in Riscle. Some of her hobbies included tending to her garden and flowers, reading three books a month as a subscriber to the municipal library, walking approximately 2 kilometers a day regardless of the weather, and keeping up with politics.

Paulette Magné-Ducamin passed away in Lelin-Lapujolle, Gers, Occitania, France, on 12 January 2024, at the age of 111 years, 266 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age has not been validated.

On 24 August 2022, following the passing of 111-year-old Madeleine Reboul, she became the oldest living person in Occitania, at the age of 110 years, 125 days.

ATTRIBUTION

* ” Paulette “- Marie – Henriette – Paule DUCAMIN – POUEY-DICARD – Geneanet

* “Une belle centenaire” – Sud Ouest, 29 June 2012

* “Lelin-Lapujolle. Paulette Magné-Ducamin a 100 ans” – La Dépêche, 29 June 2012

* “Paulette, doyenne de l’Occitanie, s’est éteinte à 111 ans : trois maris, énergie, courage… retour sur la vie de la Gersoise” – La Dépêche, 18 January 2024

GALLERY