Maria Branyas Morera, world’s oldest living person, dies at 117
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is saddened to report news that Mrs. Maria Branyas Morera, world’s oldest living person, died in Olot, Catalonia, Spain on 19 August 2024 at the age of 117 years, 168 days. Her age and status were validated using scientific age validation standards by both the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) and the Guinness World Records (GWR).
Maria Branyas Morera was born in San Francisco, California, USA on 4 March 1907 to Joseph Branyas Julia (1 April 1877 – 3 June 1915) and Teresa Morera Laque (March 1880 – 22 November 1968). Her family emigrated to San Francisco in 1906. They later traveled to New Orleans, from where they departed to Olot, Catalonia, Spain in 1915. While emigrating to Spain aboard the Catalania, Branyas Morera injured her eardrum in a fall, resulting in her permanently losing hearing in one ear. Towards the end of the voyage, Branyas Morera’s father, Joseph Branyas Julia, died from pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of 37, leaving Branyas Morera’s mother to raise the family of five on her own. In 1931, she married her husband, Joan Moret. The couple had three children.
In the 1990s, Branyas travelled to Egypt, Italy, the Netherlands, and England and took up sewing, music and reading. In November 2000, when she was 93, Branyas Morera moved into a care home in Olot. At the age of 110, she reportedly still read the newspaper every day. In August 2019, she had 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She was deaf in one ear, and partially deaf in the other, with precautions taken at her nursing home. This made communication difficult, but using a voice-to-text device, her relatives were able to communicate fluently.
On 22 December 2019, following the death of 113-year-old Josefa Santos Gonzalez, Branyas Morera became the oldest living person in Spain. She became the last known living person in Spain born in 1907, following the death of 112-year-old Virtudes Tomas Navarro on 20 April 2020.
In April 2020, at the age of 113, Branyas Morera tested positive for COVID-19, but successfully recovered. She was the oldest recorded survivor of the disease until Lucile Randon, then 116, of France recovered in 2021. In a subsequent interview with the Observer, Branyas Morera called for a revolution in treatment of the elderly, saying “This pandemic has revealed that older people are the forgotten ones of our society. They fought their whole lives, sacrificed time and their dreams for today’s quality of life. They didn’t deserve to leave the world in this way.”
In January 2021, Branyas Morera received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, making her one of the oldest validated supercentenarians to get vaccinated.
On 16 January 2021, following the death of 113-year-old Marie-Louise Berthelot of France, Branyas Morera became the last known living person in Europe born in 1907.
Her age was verified by Rosa Moret Branyas, Nancy Branyas, Ilias Leivaditis, Miguel Quesada, Robert Young and Waclaw Jan Kroczek, and validated by the Gerontology Research Group on 28 June 2021.
On 18 January 2022, following the death of 112-year-old Saturnino de la Fuente Garcia, Branyas Morera became the last person living in Spain born in the 1900s decade.
On 17 January 2022, following the death of 115-year-old Thelma Sutcliffe, Branyas Morera became the oldest living American-born person, as well as the the oldest living person born in the Americas, following the death of Antonia da Santa Cruz of Brazil on 23 January 2022.
On 19 August 2022, following the death of 116-year-old Tekla Juniewicz of Poland, Branyas Morera became the second-oldest living person in the world, as well as the oldest validated living emigrant in the world.
On 17 January 2023, following the death of 118-year-old Lucile Randon of France, Branyas Morera became the oldest living person in Europe and the world, as well as the last known surviving European person born before 1909. In addition, she is currently the third-oldest validated European person ever.
On 21 April 2023, Branyas Morera surpassed the age of Ana Vela Rubio (1901–2017) of 116 years, 47 days, becoming the oldest person ever to have resided in Spain.
On 14 May 2023, Branyas Morera surpassed the age of Tekla Juniewicz (1906–2022) of 116 years, 70 days, becoming the oldest emigrant supercentenarian ever.
In May 2023, Branyas Morera was visited by Robert Young, Director for GRG Supercentenarian Research and Database Department, Natalie Coles, the wife of Dr. L. Stephen Coles, founder of the GRG, and Dr. Manel Esteller.
On 12 December 2023, following the death of 116-year-old Fusa Tatsumi of Japan, Branyas Morera became the last surviving person born in 1907.
On 4 March 2024, Branyas Morera celebrated her 117th birthday, becoming only the 12th validated person to reach this age and the first person in history who lived in Spain to do so.
On 10 May 2024, Branyas Morera surpassed the age of Delphia Welford (1875–1992) of 117 years, 66 days, becoming one of the top-10 oldest people ever whose age has been validated by the GRG. She also became the second-oldest person ever born in the United States, behind Sarah Knauss (1880–1999).
On 20 July 2024, Branyas Morera surpassed the age of Emma Morano (1899–2017) of 117 years, 137 days, becoming one of the top-8 oldest people ever whose age has been validated by the GRG, as well as the third-oldest European person ever.
Maria Branyas Morera died in Olot, Catalonia, Spain on 19 August 2024 at the age of 117 years, 168 days. Following her death, the new oldest living person in Spain is 114-year-old Silveria Martin Diaz (born 20 June 1910), the new oldest living person in Europe is 115-year-old Ethel Caterham (born 21 August 1909) of the United Kingdom, and the new oldest living person in the world is 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka (born 23 May 1908) of Japan.
