Maria Branyas Morera, the world’s oldest living person, has died.
Guinness World Records made the announce, which was confirmed by the Gerontology Research Group.
She died on August 19th.
At 117 years and 168 days old, Maria was not only the oldest person at the time of her passing but also the eighth-oldest person ever recorded in history.
She passed away peacefully at the nursing home in Catalonia, Spain, where she had lived for the past two decades.
Maria was officially recognised as the world’s oldest woman, and overall person, in January 2023, following the passing of Lucile Randon of France.
87-year-old Maria playing Piano in 1994
Reflecting on her remarkable longevity, Maria credited her long life to “order, tranquility, good connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity, and staying away from toxic people.”
She also believed that “longevity is also about being lucky. Luck and good genetics.”
Maria spent her formative years in America – she was born on 4 March 1907 in San Francisco, California, one year after her parents emigrated to the country.
Guinness World Records said after living in both Texas and New Orleans, the family decided to return to Catalonia in 1915, amidst the First World War.
The trans-Atlantic voyage proved to be a perilous one, and not just because enemy German ships were patrolling the ocean.
Ms Morera was born in San Francisco in 1907 while the city was suffering from a second wave of the Bubonic plague but family took the decision to return to Spain in 1915. Picture of Ms Morera from 1925 when she was just 18
Eight-year-old Maria unfortunately fell from the upper to lower deck while playing with her brothers, permanently losing hearing in one ear. Maria’s father also tragically succumbed to pulmonary tuberculosis towards the end of the journey.
The family arrived and settled in Barcelona, then later moved to the town of Banyoles in northeastern Catalonia.
Aged 24, Maria married her husband, Dr Joan Moret, and they went on to have three children.
The couple worked together during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) to treat wounded soldiers, and Maria continued working as her husband’s assistant following the war.
María Branyas Morera with her husband in 1931
Dr Moret died in 1976, and María also outlived her eldest son August, who passed away aged 86.
After living through both World Wars, the Spanish Civil War, and the Spanish Flu pandemic, María also survived COVID-19 in 2020.
María Branyas Morera on her 116th birthday
She was 113 when she contracted the virus, but she managed to make a full recovery within a few days, becoming the world’s oldest COVID-19 survivor. Lucile Randon later broke this record.
Maria celebrated her 117th birthday earlier this year, spending the day with her family and friends at her care home.
Beyond being hard of hearing and having mobility issues, she had no other health issues, and her mind was perfectly lucid.
Maria is survived by two children, 11 grandchildren, and many more great-grandchildren.
