Supercentenarian Profile

Selma Tuominen

Born:

1903-07-19

Askainen, Western Finland

Finland

Died:

2015-03-13

Turku, Southwest Finland

Finland

Selma Johanna Tuominen (née Salminen) was a Finnish supercentenarian who was the nation’s oldest living resident at the time of her passing.

BIOGRAPHY

Selma Tuominen was born in Askainen, Western Finland, on 19 July 1903. She was born on her parents’ small farm. As a child, she managed to avoid communicable diseases like diphtheria and tuberculosis. She milked the cows, hauled hay for the horses, and crushed grain on a stone to feed the chickens. In her youth she loved to dance, especially emotional waltzes.

For more than three decades, Selma traveled by bus every morning from Turku to Lemu, where the Suomen Villan weaving factory was located. After the wartime years, the 1950s brought plenty of orders, and the women at the factory spent their days stacking baskets of wool, spinning yarn, and weaving carpets. Selma operated the large weaving machine. She continued her work even after a workplace accident bent a finger joint on her right hand permanently toward her palm.

In 1925 she married Vilho Tuominen, who worked at the Merilä bicycle factory in Turku. Vilho was an avid reader and even obtained a library card when he retired. Selma cared little for books and instead joined a tanhu—a Finnish folk dance—group. Her husband died in 1983 at the age of 81. They had a daughter, Aila Ahtola.

When asked about her longevity, she emphasized two things: she never smoked and never drank alcohol. At 109, it was reported that she had no aches, no pains, and no serious illnesses. At 104 she was still living independently in an apartment building in Nummenmäki, Turku, cooking her own meals, often soups. Even after moving into a nursing home, she continued to make her own bed each morning and dress herself.

Selma Tuominen passed away in Turku, Southwest Finland, on 13 March 2015, at the age of 111 years, 237 days.

RECOGNITION

Following the passing of Aino Yrttimaa (18 April 1903 – 11 July 2010), she became the oldest known living person in Finland. Upon her own passing, she was succeeded by Helvi Karki.

Her age has not been validated.