João Paulo de Souza

BIOGRAPHY

João Paulo de Souza was born in Ceará-Mirim, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, on 16 June 1902. At some point, he got married and had at least six children. In 1959, along with his son Pedro Câmara de Souza, he founded Armazém Pará, a construction materials store in Natal. He worked in the company for about 40 years, and opened multiple store chains, growing it into the largest construction materials business in the city. Upon retiring, one of his sons took on the role of managing the company.

In 2006, at the age of 104, he voted in his country’s general election, showing his support for candidate Geraldo Alckmin, and was profiled in a Brazilian newspaper for the occasion. At the time, despite being in a wheelchair and hard of hearing, he continued to maintain an active role in the stores he owned, checking the products on the shelves on a daily basis to ensure they met his standards.

João Paulo de Souza passed away in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, on 20 December 2012, at the age of 110 years, 187 days.

RECOGNITION

João Paulo de Souza is the first documented male supercentenarian from the State of Rio Grande do Norte.

His age was initially listed as a pending validation by the Latin American Supercentenarians (LAS) as of 27 September 2022. The validation process was completed by Stefan Maglov, Gabriel Ainsworth and James Roberts, and his age was validated by LongeviQuest on 1 August 2023.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Fundador do Armazém Pará morre aos 110 anos em Natal.” – Blog do Valdemar Tibá, 21 December 2012

* “Aos 110 anos, morre empresário João Paulo de Souza” – Tribuna do Norte, 21 December 2012

GALLERY

[crp limit=’4′ ]