World’s oldest person dies in Ecuador at 116

Published 9:00 pm Monday, August 28, 2006

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador – Maria Esther de Capovilla, the oldest person on Earth according to Guinness World Records, was laid to rest Monday in a simple ceremony after dying from pneumonia at the age of 116.

Capovilla died Sunday in a hospital in the coastal city of Guayaquil two days after falling ill, said her granddaughter, Catherine Capovilla.

Capovilla was born on Sept. 14, 1889 – the same year as Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler. In 1917, she married an Austrian sailor, Antonio Capovilla, who visited Ecuador, and she was widowed in 1949.

Robert Young, senior consultant for gerontology for Guinness World Records, said Elizabeth Bolden of Memphis, Tenn., is the likely successor as the world’s oldest person.

Capovilla was confirmed as the oldest living person on Dec. 9, 2005, after her family sent details of her birth and marriage certificates to the British-based publisher.

Her father was a colonel in Ecuador’s army. In her youth, Capovilla liked to embroider, paint, play piano and dance the waltz at parties, the family said.

Three of the Capovillas’ five children – Irma, 79; Hilda, 81; and son Anibal, 78 – are still alive, along with about a dozen grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren, their two granddaughters said. They disagreed, however, on the number of great-great grandchildren – with one saying there are two and the other saying five.

Associated Press