Worlds Oldest Woman Born In 1896 Dies Aged 123

This OAP said to be the oldest woman in the world after being born in 1896 has died at the age of 123 after a life in which she fled Shining Path terrorists who burned down her home and she had 12 children.

Andrea Gutierrez Cahuana died in her home in the district of Tiabaya, where she lived since she arrived in the city of Arequipa, in the southern Peruvian province of the same name when she fled her hometown of Ayacucho.

Cahuana made headlines in May 2019 when she reportedly turned 123, making her the oldest woman in Peru and possibly the world.

Credit: CEN/@Arequiparegion
Andrea Gutierrez Cahuana, during the 123 birthday party in May 2019

Local media report she was on 25th May 1896 in the province of Paucar del Sara Sara, in Ayacucho,

After her husband died she was reportedly forced to flee to the city of Arequipa because of terrorist attacks by Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), a revolutionary communist party in Peru that was condemned for its brutality and considered a terrorist organisation.

The group reportedly caused violence in her native area and her home was burnt down during the violence.

She worked as a cattle farmer to take care of her family. She had 12 children, of which four are still alive (three daughters and a son, Pedro Pablo Palacios.).

Reports state she was blind in one eye and suffered from anaemia but was generally in good health. She lived with her son and daughter-in-law but was recently taken to the emergency ward of the Goyeneche Hospital due to digestive problems. No official cause of death has been released.

Credit: CEN/@Arequiparegion
Andrea Gutierrez Cahuana, during the 123 birthday party in May 2019

The Manager of Social Development of the regional government, Itzel Nunez, went to the family home after being told of her death in order to offer to help the family with the costs of the funeral.

She only spoke Quechua, a native Peruvian language but reportedly understood Spanish.

Her family said that the secret of her long life was a healthy diet based on products from Ayacucho, such as corn, wheat and quinoa. She never smoked or drank alcohol, local media reported.

The Regional Governor of Arequipa, Elmer Caceres Llica, regretted her death and said that she will be remembered for her strength and good nature as exhibited for example by how happy she was at her 123rd birthday party.

The world’s oldest ever verified woman was Jeanne Luise Calment, from France, who died at the age of 122 in August 1997. She was born in February 1875.

The oldest woman alive today verified by Guinness World Records is 117-year-old Kane Tanaka of Japan.

Credit: CEN
Her identity card

To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Ana LacasaSub-EditorJoseph Golder, Agency: Central European News


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