Marie-Louise Fébronie (Chassé) Leclerc Meilleur
August 29, 1880 – April 16, 1998
Marie-Louise was a French Canadian supercentenarian who, upon the death of Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, became the oldest recognized living person. Meilleur is still the oldest validated Canadian ever.
She was born in Kamouraska, Quebec, where she married her first husband, Étienne Leclerc, in 1900. After he and both of her parents died in 1911–1912, Meilleur left two of her four surviving children behind in 1913 and moved to the Ontario border. Only once, in 1939, did she return to the Quebec area.
The supercentenarian had six further children by her second husband, Hector Meilleur, whom she married in 1915. After his death in 1972, she lived first with a daughter and then in a nursing home in Corbeil.
By the time Meilleur died of a blood clot at age 117 in April 1998 in Corbeil, Ontario, one of her sons was also living in the same nursing home, and her oldest living daughter, Gabrielle Vaughan, was 90 years old. She was said to be a vegetarian as well as an avid cigarette smoker.
More than a decade after her death, Meilleur still remains one of the five oldest verified people ever recorded, and, if the questionable case of Shigechiyo Izumi is excluded, she ranks fourth, behind only Jeanne Calment, Sarah Knauss and Lucy Hannah.∼Marie-Louise Meilleur, 117; Listed as Oldest Person in World
April 18, 1998 From Associated Press
CORBEIL, Canada — Marie-Louise Febronie Meilleur, who was deemed the world's oldest person and believed that hard work was the secret to a long life, has died. She was 117.
Meilleur died Thursday at a nursing home here, 250 miles north of Toronto, her daughter Olive Therrien said. A blood clot lodged in Meilleur's lung last week.
It was not clear if Meilleur ever realized she had been designated the world's oldest person by the Guinness Book of World Records. She was nearly blind and deaf.
Meilleur's death came one day after 118-year-old Felicia Young Cormier died in Crowley, La. Despite her reported age, Cormier lacked the official birth certificate required by Guinness to prove she was the world's oldest person.
CORBEIL, Ontario (AP) -
Born less than a year apart well
over a century ago, Marie Louise
Febronie Meilleur and
Felicie Young Cormier were
even closer in death.
Mrs. Meilleur, who was listed
as the world's oldest person by
the Guinness Book of Records,
died here Thursday at a nursing
home north of Toronto at
age 117.
"She said hard work could
never kill a person," said her
72-year-old daughter, Rita
Gutzman.
Affectionately known as
"Memere" to her family, Mrs.
Meilleur died at the Nipissing
Manor, a place she had walked
into with the aid of only a cane
in 1988, at the tender age of
107.
The exact cause of death
wasn't known. Her daughter
Olive Therrien, 78, of
Peterborough, Ontario, said
her mother had been well until
a blood clot lodged in her lung
last week.
Born Aug. 29, 1880, in
Kamouraska, Quebec, Mrs.
Meilleur had 10 children from
two marriages, only four of
whom survive her. She had 85
grandchildren, 80 great-grandchildren,
57 great-great-grandchildren
and four great-greatgreat-grandchildren.
She became Guinness' oldest
person last August with the
death of France's Jeanne
Calment at age 122. Mrs.
Meilleur made headlines when
nursing home staff members
told reporters she had made a
project out of fixing up her 81-
year-old son with a mate.
Irene Pellerin, the nursing
home's services coordinator,
said Mrs. Meilleur told her son
"there were a lot of pretty girls
and she was going to find him a
wife." Ann Landers' column
even gave her the title "Mother
of the Year."
When once told she was the
oldest person in Canada, Mrs.
Meilleur responded, "Poor
Canada."
August 29, 1880 – April 16, 1998
Marie-Louise was a French Canadian supercentenarian who, upon the death of Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, became the oldest recognized living person. Meilleur is still the oldest validated Canadian ever.
She was born in Kamouraska, Quebec, where she married her first husband, Étienne Leclerc, in 1900. After he and both of her parents died in 1911–1912, Meilleur left two of her four surviving children behind in 1913 and moved to the Ontario border. Only once, in 1939, did she return to the Quebec area.
The supercentenarian had six further children by her second husband, Hector Meilleur, whom she married in 1915. After his death in 1972, she lived first with a daughter and then in a nursing home in Corbeil.
By the time Meilleur died of a blood clot at age 117 in April 1998 in Corbeil, Ontario, one of her sons was also living in the same nursing home, and her oldest living daughter, Gabrielle Vaughan, was 90 years old. She was said to be a vegetarian as well as an avid cigarette smoker.
More than a decade after her death, Meilleur still remains one of the five oldest verified people ever recorded, and, if the questionable case of Shigechiyo Izumi is excluded, she ranks fourth, behind only Jeanne Calment, Sarah Knauss and Lucy Hannah.∼Marie-Louise Meilleur, 117; Listed as Oldest Person in World
April 18, 1998 From Associated Press
CORBEIL, Canada — Marie-Louise Febronie Meilleur, who was deemed the world's oldest person and believed that hard work was the secret to a long life, has died. She was 117.
Meilleur died Thursday at a nursing home here, 250 miles north of Toronto, her daughter Olive Therrien said. A blood clot lodged in Meilleur's lung last week.
It was not clear if Meilleur ever realized she had been designated the world's oldest person by the Guinness Book of World Records. She was nearly blind and deaf.
Meilleur's death came one day after 118-year-old Felicia Young Cormier died in Crowley, La. Despite her reported age, Cormier lacked the official birth certificate required by Guinness to prove she was the world's oldest person.
CORBEIL, Ontario (AP) -
Born less than a year apart well
over a century ago, Marie Louise
Febronie Meilleur and
Felicie Young Cormier were
even closer in death.
Mrs. Meilleur, who was listed
as the world's oldest person by
the Guinness Book of Records,
died here Thursday at a nursing
home north of Toronto at
age 117.
"She said hard work could
never kill a person," said her
72-year-old daughter, Rita
Gutzman.
Affectionately known as
"Memere" to her family, Mrs.
Meilleur died at the Nipissing
Manor, a place she had walked
into with the aid of only a cane
in 1988, at the tender age of
107.
The exact cause of death
wasn't known. Her daughter
Olive Therrien, 78, of
Peterborough, Ontario, said
her mother had been well until
a blood clot lodged in her lung
last week.
Born Aug. 29, 1880, in
Kamouraska, Quebec, Mrs.
Meilleur had 10 children from
two marriages, only four of
whom survive her. She had 85
grandchildren, 80 great-grandchildren,
57 great-great-grandchildren
and four great-greatgreat-grandchildren.
She became Guinness' oldest
person last August with the
death of France's Jeanne
Calment at age 122. Mrs.
Meilleur made headlines when
nursing home staff members
told reporters she had made a
project out of fixing up her 81-
year-old son with a mate.
Irene Pellerin, the nursing
home's services coordinator,
said Mrs. Meilleur told her son
"there were a lot of pretty girls
and she was going to find him a
wife." Ann Landers' column
even gave her the title "Mother
of the Year."
When once told she was the
oldest person in Canada, Mrs.
Meilleur responded, "Poor
Canada."
Marie-Louise Fébronie (Chassé) Leclerc Meilleur
August 29, 1880 – April 16, 1998
Marie-Louise was a French Canadian supercentenarian who, upon the death of Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, became the oldest recognized living person. Meilleur is still the oldest validated Canadian ever.
She was born in Kamouraska, Quebec, where she married her first husband, Étienne Leclerc, in 1900. After he and both of her parents died in 1911–1912, Meilleur left two of her four surviving children behind in 1913 and moved to the Ontario border. Only once, in 1939, did she return to the Quebec area.
The supercentenarian had six further children by her second husband, Hector Meilleur, whom she married in 1915. After his death in 1972, she lived first with a daughter and then in a nursing home in Corbeil.
By the time Meilleur died of a blood clot at age 117 in April 1998 in Corbeil, Ontario, one of her sons was also living in the same nursing home, and her oldest living daughter, Gabrielle Vaughan, was 90 years old. She was said to be a vegetarian as well as an avid cigarette smoker.
More than a decade after her death, Meilleur still remains one of the five oldest verified people ever recorded, and, if the questionable case of Shigechiyo Izumi is excluded, she ranks fourth, behind only Jeanne Calment, Sarah Knauss and Lucy Hannah.∼Marie-Louise Meilleur, 117; Listed as Oldest Person in World
April 18, 1998 From Associated Press
CORBEIL, Canada — Marie-Louise Febronie Meilleur, who was deemed the world's oldest person and believed that hard work was the secret to a long life, has died. She was 117.
Meilleur died Thursday at a nursing home here, 250 miles north of Toronto, her daughter Olive Therrien said. A blood clot lodged in Meilleur's lung last week.
It was not clear if Meilleur ever realized she had been designated the world's oldest person by the Guinness Book of World Records. She was nearly blind and deaf.
Meilleur's death came one day after 118-year-old Felicia Young Cormier died in Crowley, La. Despite her reported age, Cormier lacked the official birth certificate required by Guinness to prove she was the world's oldest person.
CORBEIL, Ontario (AP) -
Born less than a year apart well
over a century ago, Marie Louise
Febronie Meilleur and
Felicie Young Cormier were
even closer in death.
Mrs. Meilleur, who was listed
as the world's oldest person by
the Guinness Book of Records,
died here Thursday at a nursing
home north of Toronto at
age 117.
"She said hard work could
never kill a person," said her
72-year-old daughter, Rita
Gutzman.
Affectionately known as
"Memere" to her family, Mrs.
Meilleur died at the Nipissing
Manor, a place she had walked
into with the aid of only a cane
in 1988, at the tender age of
107.
The exact cause of death
wasn't known. Her daughter
Olive Therrien, 78, of
Peterborough, Ontario, said
her mother had been well until
a blood clot lodged in her lung
last week.
Born Aug. 29, 1880, in
Kamouraska, Quebec, Mrs.
Meilleur had 10 children from
two marriages, only four of
whom survive her. She had 85
grandchildren, 80 great-grandchildren,
57 great-great-grandchildren
and four great-greatgreat-grandchildren.
She became Guinness' oldest
person last August with the
death of France's Jeanne
Calment at age 122. Mrs.
Meilleur made headlines when
nursing home staff members
told reporters she had made a
project out of fixing up her 81-
year-old son with a mate.
Irene Pellerin, the nursing
home's services coordinator,
said Mrs. Meilleur told her son
"there were a lot of pretty girls
and she was going to find him a
wife." Ann Landers' column
even gave her the title "Mother
of the Year."
When once told she was the
oldest person in Canada, Mrs.
Meilleur responded, "Poor
Canada."
August 29, 1880 – April 16, 1998
Marie-Louise was a French Canadian supercentenarian who, upon the death of Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, became the oldest recognized living person. Meilleur is still the oldest validated Canadian ever.
She was born in Kamouraska, Quebec, where she married her first husband, Étienne Leclerc, in 1900. After he and both of her parents died in 1911–1912, Meilleur left two of her four surviving children behind in 1913 and moved to the Ontario border. Only once, in 1939, did she return to the Quebec area.
The supercentenarian had six further children by her second husband, Hector Meilleur, whom she married in 1915. After his death in 1972, she lived first with a daughter and then in a nursing home in Corbeil.
By the time Meilleur died of a blood clot at age 117 in April 1998 in Corbeil, Ontario, one of her sons was also living in the same nursing home, and her oldest living daughter, Gabrielle Vaughan, was 90 years old. She was said to be a vegetarian as well as an avid cigarette smoker.
More than a decade after her death, Meilleur still remains one of the five oldest verified people ever recorded, and, if the questionable case of Shigechiyo Izumi is excluded, she ranks fourth, behind only Jeanne Calment, Sarah Knauss and Lucy Hannah.∼Marie-Louise Meilleur, 117; Listed as Oldest Person in World
April 18, 1998 From Associated Press
CORBEIL, Canada — Marie-Louise Febronie Meilleur, who was deemed the world's oldest person and believed that hard work was the secret to a long life, has died. She was 117.
Meilleur died Thursday at a nursing home here, 250 miles north of Toronto, her daughter Olive Therrien said. A blood clot lodged in Meilleur's lung last week.
It was not clear if Meilleur ever realized she had been designated the world's oldest person by the Guinness Book of World Records. She was nearly blind and deaf.
Meilleur's death came one day after 118-year-old Felicia Young Cormier died in Crowley, La. Despite her reported age, Cormier lacked the official birth certificate required by Guinness to prove she was the world's oldest person.
CORBEIL, Ontario (AP) -
Born less than a year apart well
over a century ago, Marie Louise
Febronie Meilleur and
Felicie Young Cormier were
even closer in death.
Mrs. Meilleur, who was listed
as the world's oldest person by
the Guinness Book of Records,
died here Thursday at a nursing
home north of Toronto at
age 117.
"She said hard work could
never kill a person," said her
72-year-old daughter, Rita
Gutzman.
Affectionately known as
"Memere" to her family, Mrs.
Meilleur died at the Nipissing
Manor, a place she had walked
into with the aid of only a cane
in 1988, at the tender age of
107.
The exact cause of death
wasn't known. Her daughter
Olive Therrien, 78, of
Peterborough, Ontario, said
her mother had been well until
a blood clot lodged in her lung
last week.
Born Aug. 29, 1880, in
Kamouraska, Quebec, Mrs.
Meilleur had 10 children from
two marriages, only four of
whom survive her. She had 85
grandchildren, 80 great-grandchildren,
57 great-great-grandchildren
and four great-greatgreat-grandchildren.
She became Guinness' oldest
person last August with the
death of France's Jeanne
Calment at age 122. Mrs.
Meilleur made headlines when
nursing home staff members
told reporters she had made a
project out of fixing up her 81-
year-old son with a mate.
Irene Pellerin, the nursing
home's services coordinator,
said Mrs. Meilleur told her son
"there were a lot of pretty girls
and she was going to find him a
wife." Ann Landers' column
even gave her the title "Mother
of the Year."
When once told she was the
oldest person in Canada, Mrs.
Meilleur responded, "Poor
Canada."
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- Outaouais Region Leclerc Meilleur or Chassé
- Quebec Leclerc Meilleur or Chassé
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