Health Reporter/Editor
Maria Branyas Morera, the oldest person in the world, has died at 117 years old, her family announced via X on Tuesday, Aug. 20. “Maria Branyas has left us. She has died as she wanted: in her sleep, peacefully and without pain,” the statement reads.
“We will always remember her for her advice and kindness.” Branyas Morera was born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, according to Guinness World Records. Eight years later, her family traveled to New Orleans, where they boarded a ship and relocated to Catalonia in Spain. The supercentenarian, who lived through two world wars and two pandemics, attributed her longevity to luck. “Luck and good genetics,” she shared on X, via an account her family helped run. Branyas Morera would often share updates, photos and words of wisdom on her profile with her followers. “Soc vella, molt vella, però no idiota,” her X bio reads — “I’m old, very old, but not an idiot.” In 2020, at 113, Branyas Morera was diagnosed with COVID but recovered. She posted about the loneliness she experienced at the time, writing, “Loneliness is very bad because of the sensations and feelings of insecurity it produces, and because of the fears it generates. I realize that these fears impair my faculties and diminish my quality of life.” In the post announcing her death, her family shared Branyas Morera’s reflections from a few days prior: “One day I will leave here. I will not try coffee again, nor eat yogurt, nor caress Fairy ,” she said. “I will cease to exist in this body. One day I don’t know, but it’s very close, this long journey will be over. Death will find me worn out from having lived so long, but I want it to find me smiling, free and satisfied,' a follow-up post read. Guinness World Records confirmed Branyas Morera was the oldest living woman, and person overall, in January 2023 following the death of Lucile Randon of France. She died in the nursing home Residència Santa María del Tura in Olot, Catalonia, where she lived for more than 20 years. How old is the oldest person in the world? Branyas Morera' death at 117 makes Tomiko Itooka of Japan the oldest living person at 116 years old, per Gerontology Research Group.
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