MADRID (AP) Maria Branyas, an American-born Spaniard considered the worlds oldest person at 117 years old, has died, her family said on Tuesday.
In a post on Branyas X account, her family wrote in Catalan: Maria Branyas has left us. She has gone the way she wanted: in her sleep, at peace, and without pain.
The Gerontology Research Group , which validates details of people thought to be 110 or older, listed Branyas as the oldest known person in the world after the death of French nun Lucile Randon last year.
The next oldest person listed by the Gerontology Research Group is now Japans Tomiko Itooka, who is 116 years old.
Branyas was born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907. After living for some years in New Orleans, where her father founded a magazine, her family returned to Spain when she was young. Branyas said that she had memories of crossing the Atlantic Ocean during World War I.
Advertisement
Her X account is called Super Catalan Grandma and bears the description: I am old, very old, but not an idiot.
At age 113, Branyas tested positive for COVID-19 during the global pandemic, but avoided developing severe symptoms that claimed tens of thousands of older Spaniards.
Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
At the time of her death she was living in a nursing home in Catalan town of Olot.
Her family wrote that Branyas told them days before her death: I dont know when, but very soon this long journey will come to an end. Death will find me worn down from having lived so much, but I want to meet it with a smile, feeling free and satisfied.
Advertisement
","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Sky News Australia","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO0akufu9MOzyz3nvGIXAAw","cache_age":86400,"description":"The oldest woman in the world has become even older.\n\nMaria Branyas Morera was born in 1907 and has just now turned 117.\n\nShe has lived through two World Wars, two pandemics, and the Spanish Civil War.\n\nMaria is so healthy for her age that shes agreed to undergo scientific testing.\n\nResearchers are looking to determine how long or how to live a long life.","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vswKgUAQdYY/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Oldest woman in the world turns 117","type":"video","url":"https://action.news/watch?v=vswKgUAQdYY","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"66c4b2abe4b0047d36bf64ed","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/bc-eu-spain-oldest-person_n_66c4b2abe4b0047d36bf64ed","entryTagsList":"san-francisco,new-orleans,atlantic-ocean,french,gerontology-research-group,lucile-randon,branyas,maria-branyas,tomiko-itooka,@ai_seo_headline,@ap_wire_import,@nosyndication,@us_huffpost_now,@wire","sectionSlug":"world-news","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"fifty,health,women,science,us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.world-news","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/ea22a74b-6ee3-4515-8119-99473d7fd0cb/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":5},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"66c4b2abe4b0047d36bf64ed","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"san francisco","slug":"san-francisco","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/san-francisco","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/san-francisco","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/san-francisco"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"San Francisco","slug":"san-francisco","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/san-francisco"},{"name":"New Orleans","slug":"new-orleans","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/new-orleans","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/new-orleans","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/new-orleans"},"department":{"name":"Life","slug":"lifestyle"},"section":{"title":"Travel","slug":"travel"},"topic":{"title":"New Orleans","slug":"new-orleans","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/life/topic/new-orleans"},{"name":"Atlantic Ocean","slug":"atlantic-ocean","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/atlantic-ocean","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/atlantic-ocean","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/atlantic-ocean"},"department":{"name":"Impact","slug":"impact"},"section":{"title":"Environment","slug":"green"},"topic":{"title":"Atlantic Ocean","slug":"atlantic-ocean","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/impact/topic/atlantic-ocean"},{"name":"French","slug":"french","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/french","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/french","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/french"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/french"},{"name":"Gerontology Research Group","slug":"gerontology-research-group","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/gerontology-research-group","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/gerontology-research-group","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/gerontology-research-group"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/gerontology-research-group"},{"name":"Lucile Randon","slug":"lucile-randon","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/lucile-randon","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/lucile-randon","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/lucile-randon"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/lucile-randon"},{"name":"Branyas","slug":"branyas","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/branyas","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/branyas","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/branyas"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/branyas"},{"name":"Maria Branyas","slug":"maria-branyas","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/maria-branyas","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/maria-branyas","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/maria-branyas"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/maria-branyas"},{"name":"Tomiko Itooka","slug":"tomiko-itooka","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/tomiko-itooka","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/tomiko-itooka","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/tomiko-itooka"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/tomiko-itooka"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">
_(720p).jpg)
 OFFICIAL HD MUSIC VIDEO.jpg)
.jpg)
