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Godelieve Voet

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Godelieve Voet
Godelieve Voet
Birth: 7 October 1914
Steenkerke, West Flanders, Belgium
Death: 27 October 2023
Lo-Reninge, West Flanders, Belgium
Age: 109 years, 20 days
Country: BelgiumBEL
Centenarian

Godelieve Maria Pharaïlde Voet (7 October 1914 – 27 October 2023) was a Belgian centenarian who was one of the oldest known survivors of COVID-19, having recovered from the disease around the time of her 106th birthday in 2020.

Biography[]

Godelieve Maria Pharaïlde Voet was born on 7 October 1914 in Steenkerke, West Flanders, Belgium. She was one of six children (her brother Gerard died last July 5th at almost age 101). After the First World War, her parents moved to a rebuilt farm in nearby Kaaskerke. Voet lived there until the mid-1940s, when she married her husband, Marcel Pauwels. The couple had two children: Monique and Daniel. They were married until Marcel's death in 1987.

In 1994, Voet moved to Lo-Reninge, also West Flanders, where she lived independently until the age of 101. In 2016, she moved into a nursing home in Ypres, again West Flanders. In July 2017, then almost 103-year-old Voet rode in a hot air balloon along with her then 95-year-old brother Gerard. Two years later on, in July 2019, nearly aged 105, she travelled by train to Lourdes, France, recreating the journey she made on her honeymoon in 1950.

COVID-19 survival[]

In September 2020, shortly before turning 106, Voet contracted COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic. She became weakened, suffered from dizziness, and had a fever. She was taken to hospital and spent a short time on a respirator in the intensive care unit. Despite medical staff thinking she might not survive, Voet successfully recovered and was released from hospital on 12 October, five days after her 106th birthday.

In early 2021, Voet received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In March 2021, shortly after receiving her second dose, she moved out of her nursing home and back into her own home in Lo-Reninge. She lived close to her grandson Danny Cool and was visited regularly by her two children, three grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

On 13 April 2022, at age 107 1/2, Voet assisted a concert of the Belgian singer Dana Winner.

Godelieve Voet died in Lo-Reninge on 27 October 2023 at the age of 109 years, 20 days. At the time of her death, she was the oldest known Flemish female and living person in West Flanders.

Gallery[]

References[]

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