2019 Archives

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Doris Sperber at 111 years old. She was an American supercentenarian born on 20 January 1908 in Manhattan, New York, USA.

She was known as Dora Jablonsky before getting married to Reuben Sperber in 1932. The couple then had four sons together while living in Florida for 30 years. After getting married, she worked with the New York Social Services before transitioning into the roles of being a mother, homemaker, and assistant for her husband’s accounting practice.

In the 1940s, with her husband.
(Source: The Jewish News of Northern California)

When she was 100 years old, she chose to have a bat mitzvah to honor her Jewish faith in 2008.

Doris Sperber passed away on 9 May 2019 in San Francisco, California, USA, when she was 111 years old. At the time of her death, she was survived by her four sons, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

For more information, please view Doris Sperber’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is delighted to announce the age validation of the first supercentenarian from South Africa, Johanna Adonis, at age 111 years old. Upon this validation, she became the first validated and undisputed supercentenarian to have died in Africa.
Johanna Adonis was born on 5 August 1907 in Greyton, Western Cape, South Africa, where she grew up on a farm. At the age of 14 years old, she dropped out of school and then looked after her father’s sheep.
When she was 16 years old, she moved to Cape Town to work as a domestic worker in Sea Point. Five years later, she married Edward Adonis, at the age of 21. They initially resided on Hope Street in Cape Town before moving to Athlone a year later. The couple did not have children of their own, but Johanna actively helped in raising her sister’s 14 children.

On her 110th birthday in 2017.
(Source: Facebook)

She lived independently after his husband passed away in 1959 up until she was 92 years old. Her family then decided that it might be dangerous for her to live alone so they moved her to her niece’s residence in Belgravia Estate. She was one of the six founding members of St George’s Church’s Anglican Women’s Fellowship.
In May 2018, she was relocated to a nursing home at Nerina Place, Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, after suffering a stroke. Since then, she had her hearing and vision deteriorated while also dealing with hypertension.
Johanna Adonis passed away on 1 February 2019 in Cape Town, Western Cape, Southern Africa. At the time of her death, she was 111 years old and the first validated supercentenarian to die in the continent of Africa.
For more information, please view Johanna Adonis’ Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Mary Mack of the United States at age 110. She was born in Mary Penn in Terry, Mississippi, USA, on 2 April 1909. As a girl, she picked cotton by hand on the family farm. She also had three brothers and ten sisters.

On her 105th birthday.
(Source: Peoria Journal Star)

Mack was a wife and a mother to 12 children. The family lived in a small home where they used the fireplace as a stove, and owned an ice box refrigerator made of wood, several feet high with one handle on the cabinet door. To support her children, Mack started an in-house daycare, charging $1 per child per day. She babysat over 50 children over several decades.

Mack passed away in Peoria, Illinois, USA, on 2 August 2019, at the age of 110 years, 122 days. She was survived by 1 younger sister, 10 children (six sons and four daughters), and an unspecified number of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. At the time of death, she was among the oldest living people in the U.S. state of Illinois.

LongeviQuest congratulates Mrs. Mary Mack’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Mrs. Mack’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Ruth Catherine Dodd of the United States at age 110. She was born in Eldon, Missouri, United States on 2 July 1909. She was the eldest of 3 siblings.

Undated.
(Source: Legacy)

Dodd graduated from Garfield High School at the age of 15, and from Wilson Business College at 16. She got her first job at a local lumber company, as a secretary. In 1931, she got married and the couple had two children. During World War II, Dodd worked as the head clerk for the local food rationing board. She then worked as a portfolio clerk in the investment department of Pacific National Bank (now Wells Fargo Bank).

Dodd passed away in Seattle, Washington, USA, on 13 August 2019, at the age of 110 years, 42 days. She was survived by her two children, 4 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren. At the time of death, she was the fourth-oldest known living person in the U.S. state of Washington, behind Ruth Apilado, Gertrude Ellison, and LaVerne Bunney.

LongeviQuest congratulates Mrs. Ruth Dodd’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Dodd’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Annie Virginia Matthews of the United States at age 110. She was born in Brookeville, Maryland, United States on 26 September 1909. She has 8 siblings.

As a child, Matthews started attending Brighton Methodist Episcopal Church in Brookeville. She could only complete grade six but was a regular attendee of Sunday School and one-hour evening services. When Matthews was 17, the family’s home in Brookeville burned down, so the family moved into a two-room log cabin house in Sandy Spring, Maryland. She lived and worked in Baltimore with her uncle for some time, coming home every other week.

Undated, likely in 1970s.
(Source: FOX 5 DC)

Matthews was a wife and a mother to four children. For a time, she worked at the Olney Inn together with her daughters. Matthews was also employed by the Montgomery County School Board as a cafeteria worker and worked nights at Leisure World. As an elderly woman, she worked as Assistant Manager at the Ross Boddy Community Recreation Center for 15 years, working along with her granddaughter for some time. After moving with her daughter and granddaughter to Laurel, she became a member of Queen’s Chapel United Methodist Church. At the age of 98, she used to read a book every day to her great-great-granddaughter.

Matthews passed away in Laurel, Maryland, USA, on 12 December 2019, at the age of 110 years, 77 days. She was survived by her daughter, Cora Canty, 17 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren, 44 great-great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-great-grandchildren. At the time of her death, Matthews was the third-oldest known living person in the U.S. state of Maryland, behind Downing Kay and Ruby Staley.

LongeviQuest congratulates Annie Matthews’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Mrs. Matthews’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is delighted to announce the age validation of Chiyo Chōki of Japan at age 111. She was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan on 10 November 1907. She was a wife and a mother to three children. Chōki was a producer of rice and a local native plant used to make tatami mats.

In October 2014, aged 106.
(Source: Kunisaki City Public Relations)

Chōki was a very active woman who lived a long and healthy life. In her 90s, she fell into the river three times and broke her bones, but she quickly recovered each time. She attributed her resilience to her lifelong commitment to taking care of herself and others.

Chōki passed away in Kunisaki, Ōita Prefecture, Japan, on 4 February 2019, at the age of 111 years, 86 days.

LongeviQuest congratulates Chiyo Chōki’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Chōki’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Koshika Kasū at 111 years old. She was a Japanese supercentenarian recognized as the second-oldest living person in Okayama Prefecture at the time of her death.

Koshika Kasū was born on 16 March 1908 in Honjō Village, Okayama Prefecture, Japan.

At some point in her life, she got married to someone from the Forestry Bureau. Because of her husband’s nature of work, they were often transferred to places such as Yamaguchi and Osaka. During their stay at Osaka, she worked as a seamstress in a tailor’s shop. After the Osaka Air Raids in 1945, Koshika’s family returned to Okayama.

On her 100th birthday in 2008.
(Source: Sanyo Shimbun)

Her hobby was sewing and so she made an apron theater with the help of her friends. She then donated it to her community center library.

Koshika Kasū passed away on 2 October 2019 in Setouchi, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. At the age of 111 years and 200 days, she was the second-oldest living person in the prefecture at the time of her death.

For more information, please view Koshika Kasū’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is delighted to announce the age validation of Kiyoko Takagi at 111 years old. She was a Japanese supercentenarian born in Niihama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, on 15 March 1908.

She lost her mother when she was just five years old. Six years later, at 11 years old, she moved to live with her relatives in Kitakyushu City.

In 1922, she worked for the Japanese National Railways at Kokura Station as a telephone operator where she worked until 1964.

In 1938, aged 30.
(Source: data-max.co.jp)

She lost her army captain husband in 1941 due to a fierce battle on the Malay Peninsula. Since then, she raised her three sons alone while also leaving them to her relatives for a few years. After she retired from the railway station, she spent her time teaching flower arrangements and supporting his son’s water supply products company.

Kiyoko Takagi passed away on 7 August 2019 in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. She was 111 years old at the time of her death.

For more information, please view Kiyoko Takagi’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Toshiko Hayashibara of Japan at age 111. She was born in Japan on 30 March 1908.

In May 2008, aged 100.
(Source: Daisen)

At 100 years old, she was still active and engaged in her community. She attended every event at the community center and exercised for 30 minutes every day to keep her body and mind strong. She even took up dancing as a hobby at the age of 75 and was still able to read newspapers at the age of 109.

Toshiko Hayashibara passed away in Daisen, Tottori Prefecture, Japan, on 21 June 2019, at the age of 111. At the time of death, she was the oldest living person in Tottori Prefecture.

LongeviQuest congratulates Toshiko Hayashibara’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Hayashibara’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Japanese supercentenarian Iseno Yamagami at 111 years old. She was born on 13 August 1907 in Japan.

She worked as a farmer who weeds the fields around the house as her daily routine. She liked to work steadily ever since she was young. She also enjoyed drinking shōchū every after work.

In February 2011, aged 103.
(Source: tsuji-i.com)

Iseno Yamagami passed away on 6 January 2019 in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. She was 111 years old at the time of her death.

For more information, please view Iseno Yamagami’s Directory Profile here.