| Tekla Juniewicz | |
 Juniewicz (aged 113) in June 2020, one week before her 114th birthday. | |
| Birth: | 10 June 1906 Krupsko, Austria−Hungary (now Ukraine) |
| Death: | 19 August 2022 Gliwice, Silesia Voivodeship, Poland |
| Age: | 116 years, 70 days |
| Country: |  POL
|
| Validated | |
Tekla Juniewicz (née Dadak; 10 June 1906 – 19 August 2022) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Polish supercentenarian who is the longest-lived person in the history of Poland whose age has been validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). She was the first validated supercentenarian in Poland's history to have reached the ages of 112, 113, 114, 115, and 116. She was also the second-oldest validated living person in Europe and in the world at the time of her death, after Lucile Randon. She was also the oldest validated emigrant ever, until American-born Maria Branyas Morera surpassed her age on 14 May 2023.
Born in what at the time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now modern-day Ukraine), Juniewicz had lived in Gliwice, Poland since the end of the Second World War. She had been the oldest living person in Poland from the death of Jadwiga Szubartowicz on 20 July 2017, until her own death five years later.
Biography
Early Life and Family
Tekla Juniewicz was born as Tekla Dadak in Krupsko, Austria−Hungary (now Ukraine) on 10 June 1906. After Poland regained independence in 1918, Krupsko became part of Rozdol Commune, Stanislawow Voivodeship, Poland, and then became part of the Soviet Union after World War I when the border was shifted (Ukraine became independent in 1991). Juniewicz's parents were Jan and Katarzyna Dadak, and she had two younger sisters, Rozalia and Katarzyna. Their father worked for Count Karol Lanckoronski, and their mother died during the First World War.
As a child, Juniewicz attended the school of Szarytki Sisters in Przeworsk, Poland, where she learned to sew, embroider, and cook. In Przeworsk, she met her future husband, Jan Juniewicz (22 years her senior), whom she married on 28 February 1927. After the wedding, they moved to Boryslaw, Poland, where she took a job in an earth wax mine. They had two daughters, Janina (born 1928) and Urszula (born 1929).
Later Life and Death
In November 1945, Juniewicz moved to Gliwice, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, where her husband got a job in a mine. The couple were married until Jan Juniewicz's death in 1980 at the age of 96. Tekla Juniewicz lived alone until she was 103 years old, when her grandson Adam Stachowski moved in to assist her with her daily activities.
Juniewicz (aged 113) meeting Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in August 2019.
In June 2016, Juniewicz celebrated her 110th birthday. On her 113th birthday in June 2019, Juniewicz received a congratulatory letter from the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki. In August 2019, and later again in June 2022, Prime Minister Morawiecki visited Juniewicz in person at her home.
Juniewicz had been active all her life, even in her supercentenarian years. Some of her hobbies included reading, playing cards, watching movies and historical programs, working in her garden, and spending time with her family. Her active lifestyle may have been one of the factors to her longevity. She disliked being idle.
Juniewicz's funeral on 23 August 2022.
At the age of 116, Juniewicz was still able to walk short distances with assistance.
Juniewicz died from complications of a stroke and heart complications she had one day prior in Gliwice, Silesia Voivodeship, Poland, during the early morning hours of 19 August 2022, at the age of 116 years, 70 days. According to her grandson Adam, Juniewicz had been in good health and spirits until the day before she died. Her funeral was held four days later on 23 August 2022 at 10:00am, in her hometown of Gliwice in a church.
Longevity Records
Juniewicz is the first recorded supercentenarian from Poland's Silesia Voivodship. She became the oldest living person in Poland, following the death of 111-year-old Jadwiga Szubartowicz 20 July 2017.
On 24 April 2018, Juniewicz became the longest-lived person ever documented in the history of Poland after surpassing the previous record of 111 years, 317 days set by Wanda Wierzchleyska. On 10 June 2018, Juniewicz became the first Polish person on record to reach the age of 112. She subsequently became the first Pole to reach the ages of 113, 114, 115, and 116 (in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 respectively).
Juniewicz's age was validated by the GRG on 16 May 2018 after the age validation work performed by GRG-Poland Correspondent Waclaw Jan Kroczek earlier that same year, following the diplomatic action between Poland and Ukraine, with the close cooperation of Juniewicz's family.
On 11 May 2020, Juniewicz became the oldest validated person ever born in present-day Ukraine, after surpassing the previous record of 113 years, 335 days set by Goldie Michelson.
On 18 February 2021, Juniewicz surpassed Venere Pizzinato-Papo’s final age of 114 years, 252 days to become the oldest validated person ever born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Juniewicz on her 116th birthday in 2022.
Juniewicz became the last surviving European person born in 1906, following the death of Valentine Ligny on 4 January 2022. 22 days later, on 26 January 2022, Juniewicz became the last surviving validated person born in 1906, following the death of Yoshi Otsunari.
On 23 February 2022, Juniewicz surpassed Dina Manfredini's final age of 115 years, 257 days to become the oldest validated emigrant ever. She held this record until Maria Branyas Morera surpassed her age on 14 May 2023.
Juniewicz became the second-oldest validated living person in the world, following the death of Kane Tanaka on 19 April 2022.
In June 2022, Juniewicz celebrated her 116th birthday, making her the first validated supercentenarian on record to have lived north of the 50th parallel to reach this age, as well as one of only nine validated European supercentenarians on record to reach this age. She was also the first validated emigrant on record to reach this age as well.
Juniewicz died in Gliwice, Silesia Voivodeship, Poland on 19 August 2022 at the age of 116 years, 70 days. At the time of her death, she was the second-oldest validated living person in the world (after Lucile Randon), and the last surviving validated person born in 1906. After her death, Wanda Szajowska from Krakow, Lesser Poland became the oldest known living person in Poland. She was also the last surviving Polish person born before 1911. She currently ranks as the 24th-oldest person ever recorded whose age is validated by the GRG.
Juniewicz is currently the seventh-oldest validated European person ever, after Jeanne Calment, Lucile Randon, Maria Branyas Morera, Emma Morano, Jeanne Bot, and Maria Giuseppa Robucci. She is also the oldest validated person ever born in Eastern Europe, as well as the oldest validated person ever who died in Central Europe and Baltic Sea region.
Gallery
See Also
- Stanislaw Kowalski (1910–2022), the oldest undisputed Polish man ever.
- Wanda Szajowska (1911–2022), became the oldest known living person in Poland after Juniewicz's death, though for only a week.
- Jadwiga Zak-Stewart (born 1912), the oldest known living person in Poland.
- List of supercentenarians born in 1906
- List of supercentenarians who died in 2022
- List of European supercentenarians
- List of supercentenarians born in Austria-Hungary
- List of Ukrainian supercentenarians
- List of Polish supercentenarians
- List of emigrant supercentenarians
- Last people born in 190x by country
- National longevity recordholders
- Oldest Validated supercentenarians All-Time
References
- World Supercentenarian Rankings List Gerontology Research Group
- List of validated supercentenarians in POLAND Gerontology Research Group
- Polscy superstulatkowie Najstarsi Polacy
- Tekla Juniewicz z Gliwic ma 110 lat (ZDJĘCIA) Druga najstarsza Polka! TVS, 9 March 2016
- Tekla Juniewicz z Gliwic ma 111 lat! Jej recepta na długowieczność to głód i bieda Dziennik Zachodni, 13 June 2017
- Najstarsza Polka mieszka w Gliwicach. Ma 112 lat. Najstarsi Polacy, 11 June 2018
- Tekla Juniewicz, 112 lat – polska rekordzistka GazetaSenior, 27 June 2018
- Tekla Juniewicz, oldest validated person ever to live in Poland, celebrates 113th birthday Gerontology Research Group, 28 June 2019
- Gliwice: premier odwiedził najdłużej żyjącą obywatelkę Polski Wiadomości, 2 August 2019
- Najstarsza Polka mieszka w Gliwicach. Pani Tekla Juniewicz kończy 114 lat Najstarsi Polacy, 5 June 2020
- Najstarsza Polka ma 114 lat. Tekla Juniewicz z Gliwic 10 czerwca obchodzi urodziny Gliwice Naszemiasto, 10 June 2020
- Każdy człowiek boi się śmierci. Tekla Juniewicz, najstarsza Polka (114 l.) w mocnych słowach o życiu Dziennik Zachodni on YouTube, 12 October 2020
- Tekla Juniewicz to superstulatka. Ma 114 lat. Jest najstarszą kobietą w Polsce Wiadomosci, 13 October 2020
- Najstarsza Polka ma 115 lat. Pani Tekla Juniewicz wreszcie doczekała się praprawnuczki! Ale jest jeszcze jedna niesamowita informacja Dziennik Zachodni, 28 June 2021
- Pani Tekla ma 115 lat: Jestem najstarszą babcią w Europie Fakt, 20 January 2022
- Niemal 8 mld ludzi na świecie, a drugiej takiej jak Pani Tekla Juniewicz nie sposób znaleźć Mateusz Morawiecki (Twitter), 3 June 2022
- Pani Tekla Juniewicz świętuje dziś 116. urodziny. Jest najdłużej żyjącą Polką w historii TVN24, 10 June 2022
- Najstarsza Polka mieszka w Gliwicach i świętuje dziś urodziny! Ma 116 lat! Jest najstarsza babcią Europie Bytom Nasze Miasto, 10 June 2022
- Poland’s oldest citizen turns 116 Polskie Radio, 10 June 2022
- Żegnamy panią Teklę Gliwice, 19 August 2022
- Gliwice. Tekla Juniewicz is dead. She was the second oldest person in the world Poland Posts English, 19 August 2022
- Poland: death of the second oldest person in the world at the age of 116 News Rebeat, 19 August 2022
- Pogrzeb Tekli Juniewicz w Gliwicach. Najstarszą Polkę pożegnali najbliżsi, premier Morawiecki oraz przedstawiciele samorządu Gliwice Naszemiasto, 23 August 2022
| Poland's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (V • E) |
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Rozalia Obrebski • Katarzyna Kosiorowska • Stanislawa Sobecka • Marianna Tetkowska • Stefania Bartkowska • Michal Zatorski • Katarzyna Swider • Anna Lamacz • Filipina Niewiadomska • Rozalia Milczarek • Maria Basta • Rozalia Dyrcz • Katarzyna Wilkowa • Klara Spitzenfeil • Anna Wolanska • Jan Michalski • Frument Jaroszynski • Beata Bryl • Anna Tomecka • Wlodzimierz Rogosz • Jan Szarpala • Karolina Lucko • Zofia Martyniak • Maria Unijewska • Marta Piekarska • Wladyslaw Ratman • Agnieszka Wojcik • Helena Konowal • Stefania Grabala • Jozefa Mordacz • Jadwiga Zolotucho • Anna Klim • Franciszek Karwowski • Marianna Smolarczyk • Ludwika Kosztyla • Michalina Wasilewska • Wanda Wierzchleyska • Marianna Misiewicz • Jozefa Karczewska • Jozefa Stanislawa Szyda • Marianna Mroz • Aleksandra Dranka • Jozefa Bak • Ludwika Wasowicz • Jadwiga Mlynek • Jadwiga Szubartowicz • Tekla Juniewicz • Wanda Szajowska • Jozefa Ciesielska • Jadwiga Zak-Stewart • |