| Emilio Flores Marquez | |
 Emilio Flores Marquez in 2021, after being recognized as the World's Oldest Man. | |
| Birth: | 8 August 1908 Carolina, Puerto Rico |
| Death: | 12 August 2021 Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico |
| Age: | 113 years, 4 days |
| Country: |  PRI, USA
|
| Validated | |
Emilio Flores Marquez (8 August 1908 – 12 August 2021) was a Puerto Rican supercentenarian who was recognized as the world's oldest living man by the Guinness World Records following the death of Bob Weighton on 28 May 2020 until his death.
Contents
Biography
Emilio Flores Marquez was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico on 8 August 1908, to parents Alberto Flores and Margarita Marquez. The second-oldest of eleven children, at age 104 he could still easily recall the names of nine of his siblings (his oldest sister Maria died as a child): Angelina, Mercedes, Aurora, Joaquina, Cecilia, Rosa, Lino, Miguel and Jose.
He attended school for three years and learned how to read and write, before his father thought it was enough and employed him on the family's sugarcane farm, where he helped his father water the compost. He wanted to study, as he enjoyed subjects like math, reading, writing, singing and politics. He also transported the sugarcane in wagons, earning $1.12 a day. As the first-born child in his family, he also was responsible for doing many of the household chores and taking care of his 9 younger siblings. In 1935, He married Andrea Pérez De Flores (1918–2010), with whom he had four children, Hilda Luz, Olga Soraida, Emilio, and Tirsa. To support his family, he worked in the state of New Jersey, where a portion of his family still lives today. The couple were married for over 75 years before her death in 2010 at the age of 92. Two of his children, Hilda and Olga, were deceased as of 2013.
When asked for his secret to his longevity, he responded "My dad raised me with love, and taught me to love everyone. He always told me and my brothers and sisters to do good, to share everything with others. Besides, Christ lives in me!"
There was also a history of longevity in his family: his sister Joaquina Flores Marquez (1916–2018) lived to be 101 and his brother Miguel Flores Marquez (1920–2017) died two months before 97 in New Jersey, USA.
He lived with his children Tirsa and Emilio in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico for the last years of his life. At the age of 103, he overcame surgery to implant a pacemaker, and at 108, he survived an intestinal obstruction.
In June 2021, when recognized as the oldest living man, Emilio Flores Marquez had five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Emilio Flores Marquez died on 12 August 2021 in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, at the age of 113 years, 4 days. He was the last man born in 1908. Following his death, Saturnino de la Fuente Garcia became the world's oldest living man.
Gallery
External Links
References
- Andrea Pérez De Flores Ancestry
- 14 June 2013 news report with interview.
- 106th birthday post in 2014
- Obituary of Joaquina Flores Falco Caruso & Leonard Funeral Home, 6 April 2018
- Obituary of Miguel A Flores Falco Caruso & Leonard Funeral Home, 12 July 2017
- 109th birthday post in 2017
- 110th birthday post in 2018
- 112th birthday post in 2020
- Emilio Flores Marquez confirmed as the world’s oldest man living at 112 Guinness World Records, 30 June 2021
- Emilio Flores Márquez, un puertorriqueño de 112 años, es el hombre más viejo del mundo El Mercio, 30 June 2021
- Cumple 113 años el hombre más viejo de Puerto Rico y del mundo Primera Hora, 8 August 2021
- 113th birthday post in 2021
- Fallece Emilio Flores: el boricua que tenía el récord Guinness de ser el hombre más longevo del mundo Primera Hora, 13 August 2021
- Fallece el puertorriqueño con el Récord Guiness del hombre más longevo del mundo Telemundopr.com, 13 August 2021
