BIOGRAPHY

Kalinowski was born in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil on 12 January 1912 as one of four children born to Isidoro Zacharias Kalinowski and Clara Kowalski. His grandparents were Polish, with the exception of his maternal grandmother, Ida Klass, who was born in Brazil to German parents. His father was a merchant who owned a grocery store. Silfredo spent years working behind the counter, during a time when it was the cashier who personally served customers and handled the merchandise.

In 1935, he began his career as an economist in Curitiba. As a young professional, he served as a branch manager, contributing his expertise as a qualified accountant to support the sector. Later, he was appointed to oversee branch inspections, a role that required extensive travel. For two years, he visited numerous cities.

In 1947, he was transferred to Londrina. There, while raising a family, he also discovered a passion for agriculture. Even while continuing his professional work, he began investing in farming. His first four years as a sharecropper were dedicated to cultivating coffee. Kalinowski worked as an economist for 35 years, until retiring.

On 24 September 1941, he married Maria da Conceição Santos de Almeida and fathered two children – Gilda Maria and Luiz Fernando. The couple were married for 61 years until Maria’s death in 2002.

In October 2018, aged 106, Kalinowski voted in the Paraná state elections and in the 2018 Brazilian general election. By the age of 109, he had six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He died on 10 April 2022 at the age of 110 years, 88 days, after being in the ICU for two weeks due to suffering a stroke.

RECOGNITION

Kalinowski was first noted for his longevity on his 104th birthday. Many more articles were written about him by a variety of news outlets from then until his death. He was recognised as Paraná’s oldest voter in 2018.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Associado de 104 anos recebe o título de Cidadão Honorário de Londrina” – AEA PR, 28 March 2016

* “O senhor Autoridade” – Sistema FAEP, 7 June 2016

* “Associado centenário inspira coragem e calma para superar os desafios atuais” – AEA PR, 11 February 2021

* “Morre, aos 110 anos, Silfredo Kalinowski, economiário aposentado do PR” – Apcef/PR Portal, 11 April 2022

GALLERY