| Jan Goossenaerts | |
 Undated | |
| Birth: | 30 October 1900 Horendonk, Antwerp, Belgium |
| Death: | 21 March 2012 Essen, Antwerp, Belgium |
| Age: | 111 years, 143 days |
| Country: |  BEL
|
| Validated | |
Jan Goossenaerts (30 October 1900 – 21 March 2012) was a validated Belgian supercentenarian. At the time of his death, he was the oldest verified man ever who died in Belgium (he is the second oldest man ever born in Belgium, as Jan Machiel Reyskens, who was older than him, died in The Netherlands), the oldest living man in Europe and also the third-oldest known living man in the world behind Jiroemon Kimura and James Sisnett.
Biography
Jan Goossenaerts was born as Joannes Aloissius [Aloïssius] Goossenaerts in the village of Horendonk in the province of Antwerp, Belgium as the 3rd child born to Josephus Goossenaerts and Joanna van Ginneken. Since he lived nearby the Dutch border, he fled to the Netherlands at the time of the first World War. He worked as a farmhand and a mason until his retirement in 1965.
He married Catharina van Meel (18 August 1909 – 2 July 1997) c.1937 and they remained married for 60 years until her death. He had 5 children, three of whom were alive at the time of his death. Jan outlived the other two, who both died a few months before his 110th birthday.
In 2007, aged 107, he moved to a nursing home (St. Michael). In the same year, he became the oldest living man in Belgium. On 21 June 2010, when 110-year-old Stanley Lucas of the United Kingdom died, Goossenaerts became the oldest known living man in Europe at the age of 109. A couple of weeks before his 110th birthday, both the passing of his two oldest children, which saddened him a lot, and a fall made his health decline a bit but he recovered again just before becoming a supercentenarian. A day before his 110th birthday, the then Minister-President of Flanders, Kris Peeters, visited him and they planted a sapling called the "Super-centenarian tree".
On 18 January 2011, he surpassed Louis Marion to become the oldest man ever to live in Belgium.
On 11 September 2011, a month before his 111th birthday, he became the third oldest living man in the world when Tanekichi Onishi of Japan, who was almost a year older than him, died. At the same time, his mental health and eyesight deteriorated but his physical condition was still good as he was still able to walk. However, in the last few days of his life, his health deteriorated very badly and he eventually died on 21 March 2012 in Essen, Belgium at the age of 111 years, 143 days.
Gallery
References
- Gerontology Research Group
- Oudste burger van Europa wordt 110 jaar en woont in Essen BN DeStem, 29 October 2010
- Jan Goossenaerts uit Essen is oudste man van Europa De Standaard, 30 October 2011
- Oudste man van België en Europa overleden Het Nieuwsblad, 22 March 2012
| Belgium's Oldest Living Man Titleholders (V • E) |
|
Julien Sterckx • Edmond Van Cauteren • Pieter Hinnisdaels • Clement de Vos • Polydoor Vandersypt • Eugene Naniot • Cesar Dassonville • Lievin Pelfrene • Francois Rygaert • Albert de Selliers de Moranville • Dictus Bomans • Jules-Leo Neijrinck • Emiel Vanderhaegen • Petrus Van de Voorde • Jozef de Koker • Paul Henrard • Louis Marion • Georges Nevejans • Marcel Duguet • Jos de Kort • Jan Goossenaerts • Oscar Coulembier • Aime Wille • Jacques Clemens • Gustavus Leclercq • Maurice Stael • Sylvain Vallee • Jef Smets • Jaak Broekx • Albert Van Raemdonck • Benedictus Bellens• Alfons Leempoels |