World's oldest living person dies at 117

The world’s oldest living person has died in Spain at the age of 117.

Maria Branyas Morera passed away in her sleep, “peacefully and without pain,” her family said in a post on X .

“We will always remember her for her advice and kindness,” her family said in a post translated into English.

Branyas was born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, one year after her family emigrated to the U.S. from Spain. The family returned to Spain eight years later and settled in Catalonia.

Branyas was acknowledged as both the oldest living woman and oldest living person by the Guinness World Records last year, following the death of 118-year-old Lucile Randon of France.

Branyas survived both world wars, the Spanish Civil War, and the Spanish Flu pandemic.

She also survived the recent COVID-19 pandemic, after having contracted the virus just weeks after her 113th birthday in 2020, Guinness World Records said.

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Before her death, Branyas shared with her family she was feeling weak and could tell the end was near.

“Don't cry, I don't like tears,” her family recounted her telling them. “And above all, don't suffer for me. You know me, wherever I go, I will be happy because somehow, I will always take you with me.”

After a long life, Branyas’ family said she hoped death would find her “smiling, free and satisfied.”

Maria leaves behind three children, 11 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren, according to Guinness World Records.

With Branyas’ death, the world’s oldest living person is now Japan’s Tomiko Itooka, who is 116, according to the Gerontology Research Group .

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