Six sisters from Missouri, USA, have been verified to have the highest combined age of six living siblings.
The overall sisters range in age from 88 to 101, combining for a total of 571 years 293 days and counting.
The oldest, Norma, now lives in Ohio, while the other five – Lorene, Maxine, Doris, Margaret and Elma – still reside in Missouri.
They’ve lived through many significant events over the past nine decades, including the Great Depression, World War II, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the occasional argument from time to time, Elma says she and her sisters “never stayed mad” at each other.
They have remained close throughout their lives, often taking trips together wearing numbered shirts signifying their birth order.
As three of the sisters were born in July, they all meet up each summer to celebrate with a picnic, continuing the tradition their mother started when they were children.
“This record attempt has been an exciting time for these sisters who are all now in the twilight of their lives,” said Norma’s son, Dean Jacob.
Lifelong friend of the sisters Janet Douglas, who was in the same school grade as Elma, said: “They are a close, intelligent and lively group of girls, who also doted on their only brother, Stanley.”
The sisters’ older brother Stanley would have been 102 this year, but he sadly died in a bicycle accident aged 81.
“But for that unfortunate accident, we believe he would still be alive today,” said Dean.
Speaking about her aunts’ world record recognition, Stanley’s daughter Gail Agers told KMOV: “I think he would be thrilled with it.
“Yes, and very proud of all of his sisters because they all meant the world to him.”
More senior siblings
Born on 1 December 1930, Larry A Brown, Lon B Brown and Gene C Brown (USA) are the world’s oldest living male triplets. They celebrated their 93rd birthday last year.
The oldest identical twins ever are Umeno Sumiyama and Koume Kodama (Japan), who were 108 years old when Koume passed away in 2022.
In 2022, the Hernández-Pérez siblings (Spain) were confirmed to have the highest combined age of 12 living siblings, totaling 1,058 years 249 days.