Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Marita Camacho Quirós, Costa Rica’s Former First Lady and Oldest Citizen, Dies at 114

Marita Camacho Quirós, Costa Rica’s former First Lady and the nation’s oldest person on record, passed away on June 20, 2025, in San José at the age of 114. Her extraordinary life, spanning over a century, left an enduring mark on Costa Rican history through her public service and social advocacy.

Born on March 10, 1911, in San Ramón, Alajuela Province, to farmers Salustio Camacho and Zeneida Quirós, she was the seventh daughter in her family. On April 16, 1932, she married Francisco Orlich Bolmarcich, a businessman and politician who later became Costa Rica’s 34th president from 1962 to 1966. Together, they adopted two children, Francisco José and Mauricio Orlich Camacho.

As First Lady, Camacho Quirós made history by joining her husband at the 1962 presidential handover ceremony, a first for Costa Rica. She devoted herself to improving children’s welfare, promoting shelters, schools, canteens, and community centers nationwide. Her efforts were pivotal in establishing the Hospital Nacional de Niños in 1964, and she supported housing initiatives for underprivileged families through Costa Rican Social Security. On the international stage, she accompanied President Orlich on key visits, meeting figures like Pope John XXIII, Francisco Franco, and U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Camacho Quirós became a supercentenarian on March 10, 2021, reaching age 110, a milestone no other First Lady in history had achieved. In March 2023, she celebrated her 112th birthday, becoming the first Costa Rican to reach that age. She continued to break records, reaching 113 and 114, and at the time of her death was Costa Rica’s oldest living person, the world’s oldest former First Lady, and the ninth-oldest person globally.

Outliving her husband by over 55 years, she remained a symbol of resilience and service and a link to an era past. 

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