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Latest update: 04/11/2010
- France - obituary
World's oldest person dies at 114
Just six months after she gained the title, the world’s oldest person died in the French Antilles on Thursday. Eugenie Blanchard, a Catholic nun who earned the nickname "Douchy" after using sweets to lure children to her church, was 114.
By News Wires (text)
AFP - The world's oldest person, a nun named Eugenie Blanchard, died on Thursday aged 114 in the French West Indies, officials said.
Blanchard died in hospital on Saint-Barthelemy, an island some 250 kilometres (150 miles) north of Guadeloupe, around 3:00 am (0700 GMT), local officials said.
She was born on Saint-Barthelemy, a French overseas territory, on February 16, 1896 and after becoming a Catholic nun left to pursue her vocation in the then-bustling Dutch West Indies colony of Curacao.
Her great-nephew Daniel Blanchard, a former mayor of Saint-Barthelemy, told AFP he believed she lived so long because "she had decided to give her virginity to God".
She returned to Saint-Barthelemy after retiring and had lived there for the past 30 years.
There she earned the name "Douchy", meaning "sweets" in the Dutch West Indies dialect, since she would offer "douchy" to local children to entice them to attend religious readings, her great-nephew said.
Eugenie Blanchard became the world's oldest person on May 4 after the death of Kama Chinen of Japan who passed away days before her 115th birthday.
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Jeanne Louise Calment
Her age is impressive but it does not top Jeanne Louise Calment. One hundred twenty two years! She stopped riding her bicycle when she was one hundred.
May both ladies rest in peace.
Blessings
Blessings for Eugenie Blanchard. May she be dancing in heaven with the angels right now.