Emma Morano lived a good long life right up until she died on Sunday at her home in Verbania in northern Italy at the age of 117. Morano is believed to be the only surviving person who was born in the 1800s as well as the world’s oldest person. The lady was born on November 29, 1899, and toward the end of her life was living in a one-room apartment where she was looked after by two elderly nieces and her caretaker.

World's oldest person passed away in her armchair

As reported by Metro, Dr. Carlo Bava was the one to announce Morano’s death after her caretaker phoned him on Sunday to say she had passed away peacefully in her armchair.

Dr. Bava said the last time he saw Morano was on Friday and at that time she held his hand and thanked him. While he did say she did that every time he called on her, it turns out this time it might have been her way of saying goodbye to him. Dr. Bava has reportedly been Morano’s physician for almost 25 years.

Morano, who lived in the quaint town of Verbania on the shores of Lake Maggiore, was a mere 12 years of age when the Titanic sank. She saw two World Wars and so much history and conflict in her lifetime. One of her answers to her longevity was eating two raw eggs a day, and according to the good doctor, she was still doing this right up until he last saw her, along with some biscuits.

He did say the last known survivor of the 1800s spent more time sleeping than speaking recently, however, saying things changed a few weeks ago. The doctor realized at the time that she was slowly fading away. Dr. Bava did say Morano didn’t suffer, and he is happy with the fact that she passed away in tranquility with no pain.

A strong woman throughout her long life

During her long life, Morano lost a baby boy to cot death at six months of age and reportedly left her husband halfway through the last century because he beat her. Her doctor said back in 2015 that Morano left her husband during the fascist era, a time when women were supposed to be submissive to men, but she wasn’t like that.

He said she was always decisive. Reportedly after leaving her husband, she supported herself by working in a jute factory, then a hotel, and carried on working well past the normal retirement age.

Medical advice ignored by world's oldest person

According to CBS News, Dr. Bava said Morano also refused to accept medical advice, as some doctors had told her that eating three eggs a day was bad for her health. She carried on doing that for years, proving medical science wrong until the end of her very long – and by all reports, happy – life.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED