Maria Francesca Pastore, the oldest known living nun in Italy, dies at 110
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is saddened to reported that Mrs. Maria Francesca Pastore (known as Sister Letizia), the oldest known living nun in Italy, sadly passed away in Bitonto, Apulia on 30 July 2026 at the final age of 110 years and 287 days. Maria Francesca Pastore was born in Santeramo in Colle, Apulia, Italy, on 16 October 1915, to parents Letizia Maria Vita Giuseppa Perniola and Vito Donato Pastore. Later, she became a nun in 1940, when she was 25, and has continued as such for over 85 years. On 9 October 2025, she became the oldest known living person in Apulia, following the death of 110-year-old Iolanda Mazzotta. A week later, she celebrated her 110th birthday and…
Evangeline Paredes, the oldest known living person in Washington D.C., USA, celebrated her 110th birthday
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is pleased to announce that Mrs. Evangeline “Vangie” Paredes (née Abellera), the oldest known living person in Washington D.C., USA, celebrated her 110th birthday on 25 July 2026. Evangeline Paredes was born as Evangeline Abellera in Brooklyn, New York, on 25 July 1916 (claimed 26 July), to her parents Tomas Rulloda Abellera and Francisca Estrada (who came from Philippines and Spain respectively). She has lived through two world wars, multiple global pandemics and profound technological transformations, witnessing more than a century of history firsthand. In 1921, at the age of 5, the family moved to Washington D.C., where Evangeline has lived since. Later, in 1941, she married to her husband, Juanito…
Teresa Fernández Casado, the oldest known living person in Spain, celebrated her 113th birthday
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is pleased to announce that Mrs. Teresa Fernández Casado, the oldest known living person in Spain, celebrated her 113th birthday on 29 July 2026 in Zambroncinos del Páramo, Castile and León. Teresa Fernández Casado was born in Zambroncinos del Páramo, in the municipality of Zotes del Páramo of Castile and León, Spain, on 29 July 1913. She was the youngest of eight siblings. As a child, Teresa went to school just long enough to learn to read and write. She went to the fields long enough to help with the harvest or to take the newly lambed sheep from the farm to graze them in the fields. In 1931, at the…
Edwin Martin, the oldest known living man in the USA, dies at 111
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is saddened to reported that Mr. Edwin “Ed” George Martin, the oldest known living man in the USA, sadly passed away in Lehigh Acres, Florida on 24 July 2026 at the final age of 111 years and 159 days. Edwin Martin was born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, on 15 February 1915, to parents Charles Andrew and Ida V (née Collins) Martin. In the 1930s, he married Esther Laverne Smith in Maryland and went on to have at least two children together – a son and a daughter. Esther sadly passed away on 7 January 2004, aged 85, after which Edwin didn’t remarry. Edwin worked his entire career with the Baltimore Fire Department,…
Ilse Neumann, the oldest known living person in Germany, celebrates her 112th birthday
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is pleased to announce that Mrs. Ilse Neumann, the oldest known living person in Germany, celebrated her 112th birthday in Taucha, Saxony, on 23 July 2026. Ilse Neumann was born in Germany on 23 July 1914. She worked as tailor in her youth and later retired. After her husband death in 1976, she lived alone in her apartment in Taucha for many years, still going shopping alone well into her centenary. The couple had no children. Instead, Ilse Neumann looked after the neighbors’ children. She moved into a nursing home in her later years and is now using a wheelchair but overall in good health. On 23 July…