BIOGRAPHY

Vertulie Giordani was born in the province of Hinche, near the capital of Haiti, on 18 March 1904. Upon graduating from high school, she studied nursing at university before marrying Brunel Giordani in 1930; the couple would go on to have five children together.

In 1970, three years after retiring from nursing, she emigrated to the United States, settling in Chicago, Illinois with her daughter. In 1980, she lost her eyesight to glaucoma, and would later become hard of hearing as a result of old age. In 1997, she and her children moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where she would reside for the rest of her life. At the time of her 111th birthday in 2015, all five of her children were still alive and lived nearby.

Vertulie Giordani passed away in Palm Bay, Florida, USA on 30 October 2016, at the age of 112 years, 226 days.

RECOGNITION

At the time of her death, she was among the oldest living residents of the state of Florida, and is presently the oldest-known person ever born in Haiti.

ATTRIBUTION

* 111-year-old Palm Bay resident feeling ‘Tres bien!’ Florida Today, 23 March 2015

GALLERY