On Sunday, the oldest woman in the world died at age 116 in an Ecuadorian hospital. Her name was María Esther de Capovilla, and she was born in September 1889. We are all aware that there will be an end to our lives, but Capovilla’s death is a reminder of how absolute the boundary of human longevity really is.

The woman who succeeds Capovilla as the oldest woman on earth is also 116, and the oldest person on record died at 122. The life of such a very old person becomes a kind of historical timeline, in which personal milestones are laid against the impersonal events of history. Capovilla was born the same year as Charlie Chaplin. But then there’s always a question lurking in the obituary of a super centenarian. How did she manage to defy death for so long?

There are so many choices lurking in human life, so many ways to live, that you can’t help wondering whether Capovilla’s life choices are what helped her last so long. Was it her refusal to smoke or drink hard liquor? Or was it just good genes? No one sets out to be the oldest person alive. You set out to be happy, prosperous, successful, and content. But in time all your intentions fade away, and you become vastly closer to death than you ever were to life. We honour Capovilla, and we hope never to grow nearly so old. — The New York Times