Maria Branyas Morera, the oldest person in the world, has died. She was 117 years old.
Born on March 4, 1907 in San Francisco, the supercentenarian died “peacefully in her sleep” in Olot, Spain, her family announced on her X account on Tuesday (August 20). She died on Monday (August 19), a nursing home employee said The New York Times.
Morera has been a resident of the Residencia Santa Maria del Tura nursing home for the past 20 years. Recently, Morera told her family that she was feeling weak and knew her time was coming to an end.
In the translated post, she explained: “One day I will leave here. I will no longer drink coffee, eat yogurt, or pet my dog. I will also leave my memories and my thoughts behind and stop existing in this body. One day, I don’t know but it’s very close, this long journey will end.”
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In 2023, the Guinness Book of Records officially announced that Morera was the oldest person in the world. She received the title after the death of Lucile Raconalso known as Sister André, who was 118 years old when she died on January 17, 2023.
Because of her Longevity caught Morera’s attention from the medical community. Researchers who studied her genetics and lifestyle habits found that not only did she have low levels of fat and sugar in her blood, but her cells also aged more slowly than those of the average person, the New York Times reported.
The oldest person in the world is 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka, who was born on May 23, 1908 in Japan. US Gerontology Group.