Illinois woman Mary Laughead celebrated her 112th birthday
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is pleased to announce that Mrs. Mary Laughead, one of the oldest resident in the U.S. state of Illinois, has celebrated her 112th birthday on 3 May 2026 in Olney. Mary Laughead was born as Mary Burkett in Flat Rock, Illinois, USA on 3 May 1914, in a house built by her parents Hugh and Lois Burkett. She worked as a secretary at an insurance company, and would also support her husband on their farm whenever she could. A keen traveller, Laughead visited every U.S. state except North Dakota, driving in a hand-cranked Ford. She witnessed the building of Route 1, distinctly recollecting the explosions made when creating the roadway. Laughead lived…
Hikaru Katō, the oldest living man in Japan, celebrated his 112th birthday
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is pleased to announce that Mr. Hikaru Katō, the oldest living man in Japan, has celebrated his 112th birthday on 2 May 2026 in Yamaga, Kumamoto Prefecture. Hikaru Katō was born on 2 May 1914 in Yamaga, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. After joining the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, he was drafted at the age of 24, just a year before World War II began, and was initially deployed to Taiwan. Four days after the war started, he landed in the Philippines, where he encountered American forces and sustained an injury to his right leg. Though he prepared himself for the possibility of death, he held faith in a Japanese victory. Later, he was…
Francis Piscatella, WORLD’S OLDEST LIVING NUN, celebrated her 113th birthday
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is pleased to announce that Mrs. Francis Piscatella, known as “Sister Dominici“, the WORLD’S OLDEST LIVING NUN whose age is recognized by Guinness World Records, has celebrated her 113th birthday on 20 April 2026 in East Williston, New York, USA. Francis Piscatella was born in Central Islip, New York, USA, on 20 April 1913. Her left forearm was amputated when she was two years old, which caused her to be rejected by many religious organizations. Her mother taught her independence, and she had to prove that there was nothing she couldn’t do. Piscatella was accepted by the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville in 1931, and soon afterwards earned her bachelor’s and master’s…
Paladia Noja, the oldest woman ever in Romania, validated at 110
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is delighted to announced that Mrs. Paladia Noja (née Bâldea), the oldest woman ever in Romania, was officially validated by the GRG on 16 April 2026 at the age of 110 years and 270 days. Paladia Noja was born as Paladia Bâldea in Cugir, Alba County, Austria-Hungary (now Romania), on 20 July 1915, to parents Petru Bâldea (1875–1958) and Maria Bâldea (1879–1948). As a child, she worked in the fields, tended to animals, and helped her family with daily chores. In her youth, she lived three years in Timișoara with two of her siblings. She had two brothers, Ioan Bâldea (1911–1976) and Petru Bâldea (1912–1989), and two sisters Maria Bâldea…
Denise Waelbers, the oldest living person in Belgium, dies at 110
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is sadden to reported that Mrs. Denise Waelbers, the oldest living person in Belgium, sadly passed away in Mortsel, Antwerp on 16 April 2026 at the final age of 110 years and 202 days. Denise Waelbers was born in the hamlet of Kerkhoven, in the town of Lommel, Limburg Province, Belgium, on 26 September 1915, where she was raised. Eventually, she settled in Mortsel, where she met her future husband, Frank. On 28 May 2024, following the death of 109-year-old Fernande Courtoy of Hainaut, she became the oldest living person in Belgium. On her 109th birthday in 2024, she received a bouquet of flowers from Mayor Erik Broeckx, who also shares the same birthday.…