Tekla Juniewicz

Tekla Juniewicz

Juniewicz in June 2020, one week before her 114th birthday

Validated

Tekla Juniewicz (née Dadak; born 10 June 1906) is a Polish supercentenarian who is the longest-lived person in the history of Poland whose age has been validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). She is the first validated supercentenarian in Poland's history to have reached the ages of 112, 113, and 114.

Born in modern-day Ukraine, Juniewicz has lived in Gliwice, Poland since the end of the Second World War. She has been the oldest living person in Poland since the death of Jadwiga Szubartowicz on 20 July 2017, and is currently the ninth-oldest validated living person in the world.

Biography

Early Life and Family

Tekla Juniewicz was born on 10 June 1906 in Krupsko, Austria−Hungary (now Ukraine). After Poland regained independence in 1918, Krupsko became part of Rozdol Commune, Stanislawow Voivodeship, Poland, and is now part of Ukraine. Juniewicz's parents were Jan and Katarzyna Dadak, and she had two younger sisters, Rozalia and Katarzyna. Their father worked for Count Karol Lanckoronski, and their mother died during the First World War.

As a child, Juniewicz attended the school of Szarytki Sisters in Przeworsk, Poland, where she learned to sew, embroider, and cook. In Przeworsk, she met her future husband, Jan Juniewicz (22 years her senior), whom she married on 28 February 1927. After the wedding, they moved to Boryslaw, Poland, where she took a job in an earth wax mine. They had two daughters, Janina and Urszula, born in 1928 and 1929.

Later Life

In November 1945, Juniewicz moved to Gliwice, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, where her husband got a job in a mine. The couple were married until Jan Juniewicz's death in 1980 at the age of 96. Tekla Juniewicz lived alone until she was 103 years old, when her grandson Adam moved in to assist her with her daily activities.

In June 2016, Juniewicz celebrated her 110th birthday. On her 113th birthday in June 2019, Juniewicz received a congratulatory letter from Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki. In August 2019, Prime Minister Morawiecki visited Juniewicz in person at her home.

Longevity Records

Juniewicz is the first recorded supercentenarian from Poland's Silesia Voivodship. Juniewicz became the oldest living person in Poland following the death of 111-year-old Jadwiga Szubartowicz 20 July 2017. Juniewicz is currently the third-oldest living person in Europe, after Frenchwomen Lucile Randon and Jeanne Bot, and the ninth-oldest living person in the world whose age is validated by the GRG.

On 24 April 2018, Juniewicz became the longest-lived person ever documented in the history of Poland after surpassing the previous record of 111 years, 317 days set by Wanda Wierzchleyska. On 10 June 2018, Juniewicz became the first Polish person on record to reach the age of 112. She subsequently became the first Pole to reach the ages of 113 and 114 in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

On 11 May 2020, Juniewicz became the oldest documented person ever born in present-day Ukraine, after surpassing the previous record of 113 years, 335 days set by Goldie Michelson.

Gallery

Juniewicz in the 1930s

Juniewicz at the age of 100

Juniewicz in March 2016, aged 109

Juniewicz shortly before her 110th birthday in 2016, pictured with GRG Poland correspondent Waclaw Jan Kroczek

Juniewicz celebrating her 111th birthday in 2017, pictured with GRG Poland correspondent Waclaw Jan Kroczek

Juniewicz at the age of 111, pictured with her grandson Adam Stachowski

Juniewicz celebrating her 112th birthday in 2018, pictured with GRG Poland correspondent Waclaw Jan Kroczek

Juniewicz, aged 113, meeting Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in August 2019

Juniewicz at the age of 114 in 2020

References

• World Supercentenarian Rankings List Gerontology Research Group
• Polscy superstulatkowie Najstarsi Polacy
• Tekla Juniewicz z Gliwic ma 110 lat [ZDJĘCIA] Druga najstarsza Polka! TVS, 9 March 2016
• Tekla Juniewicz z Gliwic ma 111 lat! Jej recepta na długowieczność to głód i bieda Dziennik Zachodni, 13 June 2017
• Najstarsza Polka mieszka w Gliwicach. Ma 112 lat. Najstarsi Polacy, 11 June 2018
• Tekla Juniewicz, 112 lat – polska rekordzistka GazetaSenior, 27 June 2018
• Tekla Juniewicz, oldest validated person ever to live in Poland, celebrates 113th birthday Gerontology Research Group, 28 June 2019
• Gliwice: premier odwiedził najdłużej żyjącą obywatelkę Polski Wiadomości, 2 August 2019
• Najstarsza Polka mieszka w Gliwicach. Pani Tekla Juniewicz kończy 114 lat Najstarsi Polacy, 5 June 2020
• Najstarsza Polka ma 114 lat. Tekla Juniewicz z Gliwic 10 czerwca obchodzi urodziny Gliwice Naszemiasto, 10 June 2020
• Każdy człowiek boi się śmierci. Tekla Juniewicz, najstarsza Polka (114 l.) w mocnych słowach o życiu Dziennik Zachodni on YouTube, 12 October 2020
• Tekla Juniewicz to superstulatka. Ma 114 lat. Jest najstarszą kobietą w Polsce Wiadomosci, 13 October 2020

Poland's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (V • E)

Rozalia Obrebski • Katarzyna Kosiorowska • Stanislawa Sobecka • Marianna Tetkowska • Stefania Bartkowska • Michal Zatorski • Katarzyna Swider • Anna Lamacz • Filipina Niewiadomska • Rozalia Milczarek • Maria Basta • Rozalia Dyrcz • Katarzyna Wilkowa • Klara Spitzenfeil • Anna Wolanska • Jan Michalski • Frument Jaroszynski • Beata Bryl • Anna Tomecka • Wlodzimierz Rogosz • Jan Szarpala • Karolina Lucko • Zofia Martyniak • Maria Unijewska • Marta Piekarska • Wladyslaw Ratman • Agnieszka Wojcik • Helena Konowal • Stefania Grabala • Jozefa Mordacz • Jadwiga Zolotucho • Anna Klim • Franciszek Karwowski • Marianna Smolarczyk • Ludwika Kosztyla • Michalina Wasilewska • Wanda Wierzchleyska • Marianna Misiewicz • Jozefa Karczewska • Jozefa Stanislawa Szyda • Marianna Mroz • Aleksandra Dranka • Jozefa Bak • Ludwika Wasowicz • Jadwiga Mlynek • Jadwiga Szubartowicz • Tekla Juniewicz • Wanda Szajowska • Jozefa Ciesielska • Anna Gawlowska