Philibert Parnasse

Who was Philibert Parnasse?

Philibert Parnasse was a French-Guadeloupean centenarian, who was the oldest living man in France and Guadeloupe at the time of his death in 2010.

Parnasse was born in the rural community of Baillif in southern Guadeloupe on May 6, 1901. He resided with his wife in a small family home in Guadeloupe throughout his life. He suffered from paralysis soon after the death of his wife in 2001. He became the oldest man in France on December 31, 2009, following the death of Félix Maximilien Rostaing.

Parnasse died on October 24, 2010, in Guadeloupe at the age of 109. The President of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe Victorin Lurel said of Parnasse, "I am really moved and sad. Right up until his last breath Philibert Parnasse had a lively spirit, and an outstandingly accurate memory. He was a real force of nature."

Parnasse died just a few weeks prior to the passing of Eugenie Blanchard, the oldest verified woman in the world, on the neighboring island of Saint Barthélemy. Blanchard, of Gustavia, had also been considered the oldest person in France and Saint Barthélemy.