Ilie Ciocan of Bratia din Vale, Romania, becomes the oldest living man in Europe at 111
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is honored to inform that Mr. Ilie Ciocan, a resident of Bratia din Vale, Valcea County, Romania became the oldest living man in Europe following the death of 112-year-old John Tinniswood of the United Kingdom on 25 November 2024.
It is not the first time the prestigeous title of Europe’s Oldest Man belong to a Romanian man. The previous one was 111-year old Mr. Dumitru Comanescu of Bucharest (1908-2020), who became the oldest living man in Europe following the death of 112-year old Robert Weighton of the United Kingdom.
The case of Mr. Ilie Ciocan was verified by Dejan Vujić, GRG Correspondent for Serbia, specializing in the Balkan region, with the support of Mr. Ciocan’s closest family, his granddaughter Camelia Ciocan, Wacław Jan Kroczek, GRG Correspondent for Poland and Nordic Countries, and Lacramioara Frasineanu, GRG Correspondent for Romania, and validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) on 9 November 2023.
Ilie Ciocan was born in the village of Cremenari, Galicea, Valcea County, Kingdom of Romania (now Romania) on 28 May 1913. Life dealt him a challenging hand, orphaned first by his father at the tender age of 6, and later by his mother at 12, compelling him to enter the workforce early to survive. Young Ilie toiled as a shepherd, earning his sustenance with what he described as a “piece of bread.” His early years were marked by hard work, particularly with “cows,” until he reached the age of 14.
At the age of 18, he entered the institution of marriage with Floarea Obogeanu, a woman seven years his senior. The two were officially united on 28 January 1932 in the Romanian Orthodox Church. Together, Ilie and Floarea raised six children, a harmonious blend of three daughters and three sons.
The tribulations of life extended to the battlefield, as Ilie Ciocan found himself mobilized into the army at 22. Assigned to the 6th Pitesti Artillery Regiment in 1935, he marched to the front lines in 1941 during the tumult of the Second World War. As a gunner and courier servant, his service took him across the Eastern Front, from Odessa to the Don Bend, and even to the Western Front, reaching as far as Czechoslovakia.
His resilience and tenacity earned him release from military service in 1945, granted due to his status as a father of many children. Ilie returned from the front unscathed, a testament to his survival in the crucible of wartime challenges. Post-World War II, he received the esteemed status of a war veteran, an acknowledgment of his service to his country.
The pages of Ilie Ciocan’s life were marked by more than just his military feats. In the post-1990 era, following general promotion orders from the Ministry of National Defense of Romania, Ciocan ascended to the rank of major.
His life partner, Floarea, journeyed by his side until her passing in 1992 at the age of 87, leaving a void in Ilie’s life but also a legacy of resilience and family.
Ilie Ciocan’s life story unfolds with remarkable resilience and a spirit that defied the limitations of age. Even in his nineties, he embraced the freedom of two wheels, cycling until the age of 90. A testament to his robust health, he weathered a leg injury at 93, refusing the conventional “plaster” and recovering successfully.
Ciocan’s vitality extended to his eyesight, enabling him to read the Bible and the newspaper without glasses until the age of 103. However, the inevitable passage of time brought changes, with the loss of both hearing and sight by the age of 106.
His journey was marked by milestones that reflected not just his longevity but his status as a living historical figure. On numerous occasions, he ascended to the title of the oldest living man in Romania and the Balkans:
On 15 February 2021, following the death of 108-year-old Ioan Lascau, he became the oldest known living man in Romania.
On 15 March 2021, following the death of 108-year-old Stelios Fragiadoulakis of Greece, he became the oldest living man in the Balkans.
On 2 February 2022, following the death of 109-year-old Maria Mihai, he became the oldest known living person in Romania.
On 28 February 2023, following the death of 109-year-old Constantin Hertoiu, he became the last known surviving person in Romania born before 1915 and the last Balkan man born before the outbreak of the world war I.
On 5 April 2023, following the death of 111-year-old Ioanna Proiou-Dimitriadou of Greece, he became the oldest living person in the Balkans.
On 28 May 2023, he celebrated his 110th birthday, becoming a supercentenarian.
On 2 July 2023, following the death of 108-year-old Ramiz Selmani of North Macedonia, he became the last known surviving Balkan man born before 1915.
On 7 January 2024, following the death of 111-year-old Frenchman Andre Ludwig, he became the oldest living world war II veteran in Europe.
On 30 January 2024, following the death of 111-year-old Japanese Tsuneji Oyama, he became the oldest living world war II veteran in the world.
In the middle of April 2024, at the age of 110, almost 111, during an attack of dementia, he fell off the bed and broke his pelvis, he was hospitalized, and after a week he was released home, the doctors did not dare to perform an operation, he successfully recovered a few weeks later and without operation. Despite the doctors’ forecasts, he recovered and in good shape celebrated his 111th birthday on 28 May 2024.
On 13 August 2024, following the death of 111-year-old British John Farringdon, Ciocan became the last surviving European man born in 1913.
On 13 September 2024, following the death of 110-year-old Fikrije Loki of North Macedonia, he became the last surviving person in the Balkans born before 1915.
On 9 October 2024, he was visited by President of the GRG Board Management, Waclaw Jan Kroczek and GRG Correspondent for Romania, Lacramioara Frasineanu.
On 25 November 2024, following the death of 112-year-old British John Tinniswood, he became the oldest living man in Europe.
