| Cornelia Boonstra-van der Bijl | |
 Cornelia Boonstra-van der Bijl at age 110. | |
| Unvalidated |
Cornelia Boonstra-van der Bijl (born 6 October 1910) is a Dutch supercentenarian whose age is currently unvalidated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). She is the oldest living person in the European Netherlands since the death of Anne Brasz-Later (as Maria Luisa Benjamin lives in the island of Aruba).
Biography
Cornelia Boonstra-van der Bijl was born in Herwijnen, Gelderland, Netherlands on 6 October 1910 to parents Arie van der Bijl (1873–1963) and Dirkje (Ditta) van der Bijl-Exalto (1880–1976). Her father was a baker and her mother sold bread and groceries.
In 1940, she married Hendrik Boonstra. They both worked in a pharmacy called 'Casimir'. She gave birth to six children: three sons and three daughters. Hendrik died in 1963 of colon cancer and Dirk, their youngest son, died a few years before her 109th birthday. She continued to live on her own until the age of 100 years, when she moved to retirement home 'Vreedenhoff'. Despite failing eyesight and memory, she was still able to walk at the time of her 109th birthday. On her 110th birthday, it was reported that she suffers from dementia.
She became the oldest living person in the province of Gelderland after the death of Johanna Maria Besseling-Levers on 14 September 2019 and the oldest living person in the European Netherlands after the death of Anne Brasz-Later (as Maria Luisa Benjamin lives in the island of Aruba) on 2 September 2020.
On 6 October 2020, Boonstra-van der Bijl celebrated her 110th birthday. Cornelia Boonstra-van der Bijl currently lives in Arnhem, Gelderland, Netherlands at the age of 113 years, 195 days.
Gallery
References
- FESTINA LENTE, nr.55 (page 12) March 2016
- Marcouch eert Cornelia Boonstra (109), de oudste inwoner van Gelderland: ‘Waarom gebeurt dit allemaal?’ de Gelderlander, 6 October 2019
- Dubbel hoera! Arnhemse Cornelia is 110 geworden en daarmee de oudste van het land Gelderlander.nl, 6 October 2020