Oldest Dutch resident dies at age 110

The Netherlands' oldest resident, Ebeltje Boekema-Hut from Zevenhuizen, died on Saturday at the age of 110, a spokesperson for her family confirmed to RTV Noord. She is survived by four daughters, the oldest of which is 85, and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

"As a family, we are at peace with it," her son-in-law Theo de Wit said to the broadcaster. "We said goodbye together on Thursday. She passed away at four o'clock on Saturday afternoon."

Boekema-Hut died in the Vredewold nursing home in Leek, where she had lived since her husband died at age 80 in 1990. "She has always enjoyed living there. There was a tile in her room with the saying 'thankful and content,' which we presented to the nursing home as a keepsake," De Wit said. 

Growing old seems to run in this family's genes. Boekema-Hut's mother became the oldest resident of Leek at age 97, and her great-grandmother died at age 101. 

Boekema-Hut bore the oldest resident title since May 2021, when Cornelia (Kneelie) Boonstra from Arnhem passed away. She, too, lived to be 110. The absolute age record is held by Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper from Hoogeveen, who died at 115 years old in 2005.