Luxembourg

Pauline Becker-Blasius, Luxembourg’s Oldest Known Resident, Turns 107

Pauline Becker-Blasius, the oldest known living resident of Luxembourg, celebrated her 107th birthday in Stadtbredimus on 9 January.

Becker-Blasius was born in the village of Bech-Kleinmacher in south-eastern Luxembourg, on 9 January 1919. She was the youngest of five children. Pauline first attended school in Bech-Kleinmacher. Later, she went to evening school in Remich, where she learned to sew. Even then, however, she dreamed of becoming a market woman—like her mother. She initially worked as a nanny in Luxembourg City and later as a cook in a hotel in Vianden, a change motivated by the higher salary. She remained there until her father fell ill, forcing her to return home. He died shortly afterward.

Although she had helped at the market since childhood, she now had to assist her mother regularly at the weekly markets. During the Second World War, she met her future husband, Alphonse Becker, from Greiweldingen, in Remich. They were married there on 5 September 1942. Four years after their marriage, they took over her mother’s fruit and grocery business. From 1946 to 1982, Pauline and her husband worked as market vendors. They had at least one daughter, Angèle.

Topic starter 28/07/2026 1:56 pm

Germaine Elise Josephine Litwinski-Kauffmann was a Luxembourgian supercentenarian who may have held the longevity record for the country since 2018. Her age is currently under review by LongeviQuest.

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She was born in Zitha Klinik, a hospital in Luxembourg City, on 4 March 1908 as the daughter of Rémy Kauffmann and Elise Guill. She had two siblings. Her brother René died aged 85 in 1997. Her mother died in 1912 aged 34; her father later remarried and her sister, Juliette, was born in 1919. She was still alive in 2018 aged 99.

Litwinski-Kauffmann grew up in Offenbach, Germany, and was taught German, French, and English. She worked as a freelance translator, as well as being the private tutor of Count Guy Le Grelle, and secretary and housekeeper to the Le Grelle noble family. She later moved to Brussels and ran a fashion business.

Litwinski-Kauffmann returned to Luxembourg in 1980 and, two years later, married retired lawyer Dr. Roland Litwinski, who died in 1989. She lived independently with support from her nieces, enjoying walks in the local park, until she was 103, when she fractured her hip and moved into a nursing home in Schifflange.

As a centenarian, Litwinski-Kauffmann was wheelchair-bound, but she was still sharp mentally, partaking in many activities in her nursing home.

She died on 17 January 2019 at the age of 110 years, 319 days.

She became Luxembourg’s oldest resident upon the death of Barbara Schiltz-Jung on 18 July 2016.

Upon turning 110 in March 2018, Litwinski-Kauffmann became the first female supercentenarian from Luxembourg, and the second overall after Jean Ley. Eleven days later, she surpassed Ley’s age to become Luxembourg’s oldest person ever.

Litwinski-Kauffmann was reported in a single article on her 105th birthday. She was not recognised again until her 110th birthday, which received a significantly greater amount of news coverage. Her 110th birthday celebration was attended by Schifflange mayor Paul Weimerskirch and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.

Her age is currently under review, as of 26 November 2025.