| Anitica Butariu | |
 | |
| Birth: | 17 June 1882? Madrigesti, Arad, Romania |
| Death: | 18 November 1997 Lipova, Arad, Romania |
| Age: | 115 years, 157 days? |
| Country: |  ROU
|
| Longevity claimant | |
Anitica Butariu [Romanian: Aniţica] (17 June 1882? – 21 November 1997) was a Romanian supercentenarian claimant and possibly the oldest Romanian person ever, having died at the claimed age of 115 years, 157 days. If her age is true, she would be the 37th-oldest person ever (9th when she died). She would also have been the oldest living person in Europe when she died.
Biography
Anitica Butariu was supposedly born on 17 June 1882, and was deaf-mute from birth. She possessed a birth certificate that her doctor, Victor Arsenie, used to verify her claimed age. She never married, and worked as a housekeeper until 1964, when she moved into a nursing home in Lipova aged 82 and remained there the rest of her life.
Although she claimed to be 115 when she died, she would never have held the title of "oldest living person", as Marie-Louise Meilleur, Sarah Knauss, and Maggie Barnes were all older than her at the time.
Butariu was highly reliant on her caretakers. She was mostly confined to bed, and when she did walk, she tended to stay in close proximity to her bed. Nurses fed and bathed her. She knew a very limited number of gestures, and never knew of her title as Europe's Oldest Living Person. She had a fondness for orange-flavoured soda as well.
References
- Anitica Butariu Find A Grave Memorial