Deceased Man May Have Tied Age Record

Relatives and doctors of the late Juan Guzman-Romero agree that the Puerto Rican native was old when he died--just how old, though, no one can say.

Carmello Flores believes that his grandfather may have been 121 when he died Sept. 27. Authorities, who have a death certificate to back them up, say he was 116.

“All I know about him is he’s old,” Flores said.

One of the oldest, if he was 121.

Mary Thompson, a woman believed to be the oldest American, was 120 when she died in Orlando in August. The world’s oldest living person is believed to be Jeanne Calment of France, who turned 121 in February.

There were no formal birth registries in rural Utuado, Puerto Rico, where Guzman-Romero was born in the late 1800s.

A birth date of July 1, 1880, is listed in Utuado church records, which would make him 116. But that could be the day he was brought to the church by his family, perhaps several years after his birth.

A death certificate lists his age as 116, and Dr. Rajeev Yelamanchili, who treated him several years ago, is sure the man was 116, an assistant said.

Guzman-Romero didn’t know his birthday and never celebrated it, Flores said. His wife, Maria, died in 1976. The couple had at least 12 children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.