Maria Branyas, an American-born Spaniard recognized as the world’s oldest person, has passed away, her family has announced.
In a post on her X (formerly Twitter) account, her family wrote in Catalan: “Maria Branyas has left us. She departed as she wished: peacefully, in her sleep, and without pain.”
At the time of her death, she was 117 years old.
Born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, Ms. Branyas moved to Spain with her family at a young age. She was residing in a nursing home in Olot, Catalonia.
Her X account, titled “Super Catalan Grandma,” featured the description: “I am old, very old, but not an idiot.”
In her final social media post, she expressed her feelings of weakness and wrote: “The time is near. Don’t cry, I don’t like tears. And above all, don’t suffer for me. Wherever I go, I will be happy.”
The Gerontology Research Group, which verifies individuals believed to be 110 or older, listed Ms. Branyas as the oldest living person after the death of French nun Lucile Randon last year.
Randon, who passed away at 118, was known for enjoying a daily glass of wine. The next oldest person listed by the Gerontology Research Group is Tomiko Itooka from Japan, aged 116.
The only verified person to have lived past 120 was Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who lived to 122 years and 164 days before her death in 1997.
