Branyas, a lively resident of the Spanish region of Catalonia, has lived through two world wars and numerous events of historical significance.

Maria Branyas, the oldest living person in the world, has died in a Spanish nursing home at the age of 117. She lived through two world wars and numerous events of historical significance.

A spokesperson for the nursing home and her official social media account said Tuesday that Branyas died in her sleep.

The Guinness Book of Records declared her the oldest living person in January 2023.

“Maria Branyas has left us. She died as she wanted: in her sleep, peacefully and without pain,” announced her social media account, managed by her daughter. Her biography on X, formerly known as Twitter, states: “I am old, very old, but I am not a fool.”

Branyas had suggested earlier this week that she was nearing the end of her life, saying in a social media post: “I feel weak. The time is coming. Don’t cry, I don’t like tears… You know me, no matter where I go, I will be happy.”

Passat had recently met Fada and thought that I didn’t want to see him anymore. She was a mare and thought that she hadn’t lived long. But we are a different Estonian juntes. It is a blessing to bother your child with his crimes and hospitality. Ella, you little ones 👇 pic.twitter.com/L5OafzuXGm

– Super Àvia Catalana (@MariaBranyas112) March 31, 2024

Branyas was born on March 4, 1907, in San Francisco, California, and moved with her family to the Spanish region of Catalonia when she was seven years old.

She spent the rest of her life there, experiencing the Spanish flu of 1918, the country’s bloody civil war of 1936-1939, both world wars, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Branyas attributed her long life to “order, calm, good relationships with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity and distance from toxic people.”

When she lived to be 117 years old, Branyas was identified as the 12th oldest person in recorded history, according to the Guinness Book of Records. The oldest was a French woman named Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122 years and 164 days old.

“One day, I don’t know but it’s very near, this long journey will be over,” her account quoted Branyas as saying a few days ago. “Death will find me exhausted because I have lived so long, but I want it to find me smiling, free and content.”