Margaret Romans
Margaret Romans | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 16, 1912 (age 113 years, 113 days) |
| Occupation | Art teacher |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse |
Heinrich Romans
(m. 1941; died 2002) |
Margaret Romans (born 16 March 1912) is a Canadian supercentenarian. As of 7 July 2025, she is the oldest living Canadian, since the death of Hazel Skuce on 3 January 2025.[1][2]
Biography
Margaret Romans was born on March 16, 1912 in Riga, Latvia (then part of the Russian Empire) as Margarita Anna Mežgaile, her mother was German and Latvian descent Anna Margarēta Mežgaile (born 1883), the daughter of merchant Pēteris Ulpe from Riga, and her father was Latvian merchant Pēteris Pauls Mežgailis (born 1865) from Augstroze parish;[3] she was baptized on April 12 by the pastor of the Mārtiņš parish, Teodors Taube, and his godparents — her maternal sister German Hilda Emīlija Dorothea Leimane, born in 1889, and her husband, philatelist and merchant from Jūrkalne, Latvian John Dempel, born in 1875.[4] Her schoolmate at art school was poster artist Hado Lapsa. In 1941, she married Heinrich Romans, having arranged a small wedding because of the war and occupation in Latvia. The woman's husband's father was Fricis Roman, the owner of the Vērmaņdārzs restaurant. In 1944, the 33-year-old craftswoman Margarita showed a Latvian patterned service at the applied arts exhibition "Laikmets" in Riga.[5]
Romans is able to recall the bombings at the start of World War II. The couple did not have any children. Not long after the wedding, they were forced to flee from Latvia. They lived in Germany for a couple of years before emigrating to Canada in 1947. Margaret thinks the landscape and climate is very similar to that of Latvia. Romans worked as an art teacher at YMCA,[6] and her husband was an engineer. Throughout her life, she stayed in touch with a lot of her former students, and also taught several generations.[7][8]
In 2002, Romans was widowed and lived independently in Westmount, Quebec, until she was 107, when she was put into the Château Pierrefonds nursing home in Montreal, where her room is decorated with artwork of her own, which includes depictions of women wearing traditional Latvian dresses, and the view of her window from when she and her husband lived in Germany.[9][10]
In 2024, when she turned 112 years old, Margaret could still walk with outside help and follow current events via listening to the radio.[11][12]
As of 2025, she lives in Sainte-Geneviève, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[13]
Longevity Records
- 16 March 2022, she celebrated her 110th birthday, becoming a supercentenarian.
- 28 September 2024, the Gerontology Research Group validated her case.[14]
- 8 April 2024, after the passing of 112 year old Annette Sabourin Brunet, Romans became the oldest living person in Quebec.[15]
- 3 January 2025, after the death of 112 year old Hazel Skuce, she became the oldest living Canadian person.[16]
References
- ^ "World Supercentenarian Ranking List". Gerontology Research Group. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
- ^ "Margaret Romans". Retrieved 20 May 2025.
- ^ Jarinovska, Kristīne Gerontology Research Group https://x.com/jarinovska/status/1893506073203491077
- ^ Jarinovska, Kristīne Gerontology Research Group https://x.com/jarinovska/status/1893409951629910436
- ^ Jarinovska, Kristīne Gerontology Research Group https://x.com/jarinovska/status/1893338222169620631
- ^ "Art workshop at 'Y' opens new courses". Montreal Gazette. 30 January 1953. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "Kanādas vecākā iedzīvotāja, rīdziniece Margarita Romana, gatavojas svinēt 113. dzimšanas dienu" (in Latvian). Jauns. 21 February 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "A Montreal woman has celebrated her 111th birthday. Here are her words of wisdom". Global News. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "1 month shy of her 113th birthday, Canada's oldest person shares some wisdom". Retrieved 20 May 2025.
- ^ "Montreal woman's advice on 111th birthday? Be curious, be grateful, never hold a grudge". Montreal Gazette. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "Margaret Romans - Gerontology Research Group". Retrieved 12 January 2025.
- ^ "Margaret Romans: 111 years young" (PDF). Montreal West Viewspaper. April 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ^ "Margaret Romans of Latvia/Canada, 113th birthday". Gerontology Research Group. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ^ "Gerontology Research Group recognizes Margaret Romans of Montreal as the new Doyenne of Canada". Gerontology Research Group. 12 January 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ^ "Canadian Margaret Romans, validated as supercentenarian". LongeviQuest. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "Hazel Skuce, doyenne of Canada, dies at 112". Gerontology Research Group. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.