Maria Branyas, World’s Oldest Person, Dies in Spain at Age 117

MADRID (Reuters) – Maria Branyas, who held the title of the world’s oldest person, has passed away peacefully at the age of 117 in a Spanish nursing home. The news was confirmed through her account on the X platform and by a spokesperson at the home on Tuesday.

“Maria Branyas has left us. She has died as she wanted: in her sleep, peacefully and without pain,” said her official X account, while the nursing home spokesperson confirmed the information but did not provide further details.

Just a day prior, Branyas had hinted at her passing on X, expressing: “I feel weak. The time is coming. Don’t cry, I don’t like tears… You know me, wherever I go, I will be happy.” Her account on X is managed by her daughter.

Branyas had celebrated her 117th birthday on March 4, as confirmed by Guinness World Records. She earned the title of the world’s oldest person in January 2023.

Born in San Francisco, California, in 1907, Branyas moved with her Spanish family to Catalonia when she was seven years old. She spent the remainder of her life in that region, enduring the Spanish Civil War from 1936-39 and experiencing two pandemics, the 1918 Spanish flu, and the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic.

In 1931, Branyas married Catalan doctor Joan Moret, and together, they had three children. Her husband passed away in 1976. Tragically, she also outlived her son, August, who died in a tractor accident at the age of 86 as noted by Guinness World Records.

Branyas had consented to scientific studies of her remarkable longevity, which she credited to a combination of luck and good genetics. She cited “order, tranquillity, good connections with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity, and staying away from toxic people” as essential aspects of her long life, according to Guinness.

By reaching 117, Branyas became the 12th oldest verified person in recorded history. The oldest person ever verified was Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122 years and 164 days old.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Catherine Macdonald; editing by Charlie Devereux and Bernadette Baum)

Source: Reuters