| Adele Rodenstein | |
 Rodenstein on her 111th birthday | |
| Unvalidated |
Adele Rodenstein (born 3 September 1908) is a Belgian-born German supercentenarian whose age is currently unvalidated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). She may be the second-oldest living person in Germany behind Katharina Hagemeyer, as well as the second-oldest living person born in Belgium behind Elisabeth De Proost.
Biography
Rodenstein was born in Herbesthal, a small German-speaking village in the Belgian province of Liege. She was the youngest of nine siblings. Her mother died at an early age, so her father, after acquiring a job as a railway worker, moved the family to Hohenbudberg, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany.
In 1930, at the age of 21, she married Heinrich "Heinz" Rodenstein, an orthopaedic shoemaker. The couple lived in Rheinhausen, Duisburg, and had two children, both daughters. Heinz died in 1970, and one of their daughters died in 2016.
Rodenstein lived in an apartment, which is in the same building as her youngest daughter’s apartment, from 2004 until 2017, when she moved into a senior living facility. Since the age of 109, she has used a wheelchair. She has seven grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren, one of whom was born on her 110th birthday.
On her 111th birthday in 2019, Rodenstein was asked the secret to her long life. She replied with “Always think positive. I laugh and eat a lot.”
Rodenstein currently lives in Duisburg, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany, at the age of 115 years, 228 days.
References
- Adele Rodenstein feiert 106. Geburtstag Neukirchen-Vluyn, 4 September 2014
- Neukirchen-Vluynerin ist mit 109 Jahren noch putzmunter NRZ, 13 September 2017
- Congratulations! Elder Duisburger celebrates 111 years Douma News, 3 September 2019
- Gratulation! Älteste Duisburgerin feiert 111. Geburtstag WAZ, 3 September 2019