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Maria de JesusPortuguese centenarian
Date of Birth: 10.09.1893
Country:  Portugal |
Content:
Biography of Maria de Jesus
Maria de Jesus, a Portuguese centenarian, was born on September 10, 1893, in the community of Olivais. She became the oldest living person after the death of American Edna Parker on November 26, 2008, at the age of 115. Maria was married in 1919 and has five children, three of whom are still alive. Her daughter, Madalena, born on December 25, 1924, lives with her. Maria's husband passed away in 1953. Her youngest son, Manuel Santos, was born in 1928.
A Life of Simplicity
Throughout her life, Maria was only hospitalized once. She dedicated herself to farming and lived in a rural village. Despite her advanced age, Maria continued to live in her own home instead of a nursing home. She never drank or smoked, preferring a diet of fish and vegetables. She enjoyed looking at old albums, sunbathing on her porch, eating rice pudding, and taking baths.
The Secrets of Longevity
The surname "Santos" seems to be linked to longevity in a unique way. Apart from Maria de Jesus, two other women with this surname also lived to be very old. One of them, Lucia dos Santos, a revered visionary considered a saint, passed away at the age of 97 years and 328 days in 2005. After Maria de Jesus' death, the title of the world's oldest living person was passed on to Gertrude Baines, an American who was 208 days younger than Maria. Gertrude, born in 1894, died on September 11, 2009, almost on Maria's birthday. This fact highlights the uniqueness of Maria de Jesus as the last living representative of the year 1893.
