Rose Girone, world’s oldest Holocaust survivor, dies at 113 in Long Island nursing home

Dark chocolate and living with purpose.

Those were the keys to a long life, according to Rose Girone, who was believed to be the world’s oldest Holocaust survivor. Girone died on Monday at 113, at Belair Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in North Bellmore, where she had lived for the past decade.

Born in Poland in 1912, Girone was eight months pregnant in 1939 when she and her husband, Julius Mannheim, fled Nazi persecution to Shanghai, China, where they were among tens of thousands of other Jewish refugees.

In China, Girone relied on her knitting skills to support her family, according to Jewish News Syndicate. After World War II, she and her family immigrated to the United States in 1947, eventually settling in New York.

It was here that Girone’s life took on another chapter — one defined by teaching others the art of knitting. In 1953, she opened Rose’s Knitting Studio in Forest Hills, Queens, and for decades became a beloved figure in the community.

Girone remained an active member of her community, volunteering and working until she was 102.

“She was a woman of perseverance and determination, with a very strong will to live,” her granddaughter, Dr. Carol Furman, told Jewish News Syndicate. “She survived in part because she was a fighter, but also because she was smart and independent.”

Girone celebrated her 113th birthday on Jan. 13, surrounded by family and friends.

When asked about the secret to her incredible longevity, she said simply: “Eat lots of chocolate.” News 12 reported that this favorite indulgence became one of her trademarks, along with a life well-lived and full of purpose.

Her life was not just about survival—it was about thriving, despite the odds, her granddaughter said.

“She always says the secret to her longevity is she loves to eat dark chocolate,” her granddaughter Gina Bennicasa of Merrick told the Long Island Herald, “she has good children, and she has a purpose. She always said to me, ‘Always have a purpose in life. Get up, and always have a purpose.’”

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