Ecuadorean woman is now oldest
GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador – At 100 years old, she became bedridden and so weakened from a stomach ailment that a priest administered last rites. But Maria Esther de Capovilla recovered, and 16 years later she has become the oldest person on Earth, according to Guinness World Records.
Born on Sept. 14, 1889, the same year as Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler, Capovilla was married the year the United States entered World War I – 1917 – and widowed in 1949.
“We see the condition she is in, and what is admirable is not only that she reached this age, but that she got here in this shape, in very good health,” Capovilla’s daughter, Irma, told a reporter at the home where her mother lives in this coastal city.
Seated on a sofa and waving a fan with a slender, steady hand in the tropical heat, Capovilla seemed bemused by the presence of strangers. Irma, 79, leaned close to her mother’s ear, and speaking in a loud voice, told her she was famous because she was the world’s oldest person.
Capovilla shook her head and smiled. Her calm disposition may be the secret to her longevity, her daughter said.
“She always had a very tranquil character,” Irma said. “She does not get upset by anything. She takes things very calmly and she has been that way her whole life.”
Capovilla, who comes from a well-to-do family, was confirmed as the oldest person on Dec. 9, after her family sent details of her birth and marriage certificates to the British-based publisher.
Three of Capovilla’s five children – daughters Irma and Hilda, 81, and son Anibal, 77 – are still alive, along with 10 of her 11 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.
For the past 20 years, Capovilla has lived with her elder daughter, Hilda, and son-in-law, Martin.
Fervently religious, Capovilla says her prayers daily, takes communion every Friday and always joins the family for meals, enjoying lentils and chicken for lunch.
At night, she has coffee with hot milk and bread with cheese or jam, and she says she can’t do without something sweet: gelatin, ice cream or cake.