Belgium’s oldest woman dies aged 110

Belgium lost a remarkable person on Monday, with the death of 110-year-old Anna De Guchtenaere, its oldest resident, various Belgian media report. Coincidentally, the world’s oldest person, 116-year-old Gertrude Weaver, died the same day.

De Guchtenaere (pictured), formerly the oldest inhabitant of the country, passed away just shy of her 111th birthday. She was born on 10 April, 1904 in Ledeberg (Ghent), and spent her last days at De Zonnebloem nursing home in Zwijnaarde. De Guchtenaere, who studied at the conservatory in Ghent, accompanied silent films as a violinist.

Meanwhile, in the United States on the same day, the world’s oldest person, Gertrude Weaver passed away at the age of 116. Weaver only held the title for six days, following the death of Misao Okawa, 117, of Japan.

American Jeralean Talley, who was born on 23 May, 1899, is now the oldest person in the world at the age of 115, while Alicia Van den Berghe-Corveleyn, 110, takes over as Belgium’s oldest person.