Happy 111th Birthday!

https://longeviquest.com/2026/01/elizabeth-philippina-van-boven-smaal-the-oldest-dutch-woman-turns-111/

Elizabeth Philippina van Boven-Smaal, the Oldest Dutch Woman, Turns 111

Elizabeth Philippina van Boven-Smaal, the oldest living woman in the Netherlands, celebrated her 111th birthday in Capelle aan den IJssel on 5 January, according to IJssel en Lekstreek.

Elizabeth Philippina van Boven-Smaal was born in the Overschie district of Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands on 5 January 1915. She had nine siblings, and as the eldest daughter in the family, she took on a great deal of housework.

She married in 1938 and gave birth to her first child, a son, in 1942. Tragically, he died in 1945. During World War II, she experienced two bombing raids, which led the family to flee to Groningen. In 1947, she had her second and last child. In 1968, the family moved to The Hague. Her husband passed away in 1980. In 2002, at the age of 87, she remarried an old school friend who lived in Capelle.

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.