Marie Andersen
- Full name: Marie Antonette Andersen (née Bremseth)
- Lifespan: 29.09.1909 – 16.02.2020
- Age: 110 years, 140 days
- Birthplace: Tomma, Nesna Municipality, Nordland fylke, Norway
- Last residence: Leirfjord, Leirfjord Municipality, Nordland fylke, Norway
- Application date: 29.09.2019
- Validation date: 24.10.2021
- Validation source: Waclaw Jan Kroczek
Biography
Marie Andersen was born Marie Antonette Bremseth in Alsoy, Tomma, Nordland, Norway, on 29 September 1909. Her parents were Ole Olsen Bremseth (1842–1938) and Johanna Pauline Johansdatter (1877–1972). She was the youngest of seven siblings. She had at least two sisters, Anna Jorgine Levang (1901–1974) and Katrine Jonette Hauknes (1907–1989). Andersen said that she was “school-savvy and passionate about science”. Between the ages of 7 and 8, she lived with her sister Anna and helped her on a farm. When she returned to Tomma, she worked on a farm and lived there during her schooling. Between the ages of 8 and 9, she was given the responsibility of caring for three children on a farm.
As a young woman, Andersen went to Oslo, where she met her future husband. Around 1928, she married Ingvald Martin Toresen (1902–1930) in Oslo. They had one daughter, Bjorg Myrvang (1928–1997). Toresen died of tuberculosis on 3 June 1930. After his death, she moved back to her sister, Anna. There she met Anna’s brother-in-law, Ludvig Andersen, who would later become her second husband. On 19 September 1931, she remarried to Ludvig Levang Andersen (1904–1990) in Korgen, Hemnes, Nord-Norge. They had two sons. In 1987, they got a care apartment in Leland, Leirfjord. Her husband died in 1990, but Andersen lived in the apartment until the age of 104.
In an interview for NRK from 2015, at the age of 105, she told that she had good and safe childhood: “It was a bright and beautiful time. I went to school every day and enjoyed reading”. Andersen became a supercentenarian on 29 September 2019. At that time, she had four grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 22 great-great-grandchildren, and one great-great-great-grandchild. Most of her descendants visited her on the birthday in Leirfjord Nursing Home, where she moved 6 years prior. Her granddaughter, Maidi Lill Andersen, said that Andersen lived at her home until the age of 104. Until then, she was able to go to a store herself and played billiards. According to her granddaughter, her age was not something she liked to talk about. On her 110th birthday in 2019, she said: “It’s probably not a sensation. After all, I have done nothing but stayed alive”.
She was the oldest living person in Norway from the death of Torbjorn Overbo on 27 November 2017, until her own death on 16 February 2020. Andersen was the last Norwegian person born in the 1900’s decade.
Marie Andersen died in Leirfjord, Nordland, Norway, on 16 February 2020, at the age of 110 years, 140 days.
Marie Andersen, undated.
Longevity Recognition
- Doyenne of Norway (27.11.2017 – 16.02.2020)
Validation
The supercentenarian case of Marie Andersen was meticulously examined and verified by Waclaw Jan Kroczek, GRG Correspondent for Poland and Nordic Countries, and validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) as of October 24, 2021.
Marie Andersen with her first child in 1928.
Marie Andersen in early 1930s with her second husband, after she moved to Leirfjord.
Marie Andersen at age 105 with her granddaughter Maidi Lill Andersen.
Marie Andersen a few days before her 108th birthday in 2017.
Marie Andersen on her 110th birthday with her eldest grandson, Ingvar Myrvang (aged 74) in 2019
Andersen on her 110th birthday with her great-great-great-grandson, Ulrik Skevik Larsen (aged 2) in 2019.
Photo courtesy of Helgelendingen.no
