| Rafael Merkelj | |
 Merkelj on his 100th birthday in 2013. | |
| Birth: | 5 February 1913 Velike Zablje, Ajdovscina, Austria-Hungary (now Slovenia) |
| Death: | 14 July 2020 Velike Zablje, Ajdovscina, Slovenia |
| Age: | 107 years, 160 days |
| Country: |  SVN
|
| Centenarian | |
Rafael Anton Merkelj (5 February 1913 – 14 July 2020) was a Slovenian centenarian who was the oldest known living man in Slovenia at the time of his death.
Biography[]
Rafael Merkelj was born in Velike Zablje, Ajdovscina, Austria-Hungary (now Slovenia) on 5 February 1913, the second of four children. After finishing primary school he began to engage in agriculture and viticulture. He also set up a workshop and a smithy at home, and was one of the first to own a tractor in the region.
As a young man, he was drafted into the Italian army, and at the start of World War II he was drafted again as a reservist. He did not return home until 1947. He married Maria in 1954. The couple haf two children: Marjan and Ana. He got widowed in 2014.
He drove the car until the age of 86 years, a tractor until his 100th birthday in 2013, and planted his last vines at age 95 years. He had some problems with a hip injury in 2015 and had been lived with his son Marjan and daughter-in-law Marjetka until his death.
He became the oldest known living man in Slovenia, following the death of 110-year-old Niko Dragos (five years, five months, and eight days his senior) on 31 March 2018. On his 106th birthday in 2019, he had one son, one daughter, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He also expressed his wish to live to 110.
There was also a history of longevity in his family: his sisters lived to be 103 and 97 years respectively.
Rafael Merkelj died in Velike Zablje, Ajdovscina, Slovenia on 14 July 2020 at the age of 107 years, 160 days. Following his death, then-106-year-old Mihael Jersic became the new oldest known living man in Slovenia.
References[]
- Vse najboljše za vaših 100 let, gospod Rafael Merkelj Občina Ajdovščina, 6 February 2013
- Rafael Merkelj praznoval 103. rojstni dan MojaObčina.si, 22 February 2016 (dead link)
- Cita in Rafael imata skupaj kar 204 leta Svet24.si, 13 February 2017
- Rafael Merkelj iz Velikih Žabelj dopolnil 106 let Radio Robin, 5 February 2019
- Vse najboljše, gospod Rafael Merkelj za 106. rojstni dan Lokalne Ajdovščina, 6 February 2019
- “Do 110 bom pa že počakal” Primorske, 6 February 2019
- Rafael Anton Merkelj obituary Osmrtnice.si, 17 July 2020 (Archived)
| Slovenia's Oldest Living Man Titleholders (V • E) |
|
Ivan Likavec • Niko Dragos • Rafael Merkelj • Mihael Jersic • Joze Pogacnik • Aleksander Lestan |