Happy 111th Birthday!

Happy birthday, Mrs Smaal!

This is the first article to provide more background information about Mrs Smaal:

* she was born as the sixth child in a family of ten siblings, whom she has all outlived. She was the oldest daughter, which meant having to assist in the household - especially washing her brothers' football shirts by hand;

* she was first married in 1938 (known). The marriage resulted in two children: a son born in 1942 who died in 1945 (known), and a son born in 1947, who is still alive today (new info);

* the family fled Rotterdam after they had been bombarded twice during the Second World War, ending up in the northeast of the country (known because of her son's death certificate available online);

* her husband and she moved to Den Haag (The Hague) in 1968; he died in 1980;

* she was apparently married to an old schoolfriend in 2002 at the age of 87; this is also when she became a vegetarian;

* she still lives independently, receiving household help for two hours during the week; she can also still walk around with the help of a walker;

* she doesn't enjoy receiving visitors, although she's begun to realise and appreciate that her age is special - so somewhat more visitors are allowed.