Rie Platteel-Klingeman

BIOGRAPHY

Rie Platteel-Klingeman was born in Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands, on 2 June 1915. She was the daughter of a bargeman. Her parents transported passengers and livestock along the Rhine River. At a young age, she was sent to a boarding school run by nuns in Dordrecht, where she trained as a seamstress.

Around the age of twelve, her family settled in a house in South Rotterdam. Before the outbreak of the Second World War, Rie met her future husband, Alexander Platteel. They married in the Netherlands and moved to Indonesia, where Alexander worked as an engineer for the Royal Packet Navigation Company (KPM). Their first child, Maria, was born there. When war broke out, Alexander was drafted into the naval submarine service. During the war, their second daughter, Joke, was born. Rie remained in Indonesia and was eventually interned in a Japanese camp.

After the war, Alexander found work in Aruba, and Rie and the children joined him. He became a mechanical engineer at a drinking water company. While living on the Caribbean island, their sons—Alexander and Ad—were born. After about fifteen years, the family returned to the Netherlands. Alexander passed away in 1990.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by Marco Wikkerink and Gert Jan Kuiper, and validated by the European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO) on 15 June 2025.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Rie van 107 naait het liefst elke dag en slaat de taart over” – Rijnmond, 3 June 2022

GALLERY

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