Ode to Tante Es | Amsterdam's oldest resident

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Aunt Es, Amsterdam's oldest resident, has almost turned 110 years old

No one wants to be old but everyone wants to grow old. Especially as “Aunt Es” became the city's oldest resident: spry and healthy. While she was busy preparing for her 110th birthday, she died in the early morning of Feb. 14, peacefully in her sleep.

Elselyn Harriette Angelique Fa Si Oen, as Aunt Es was called in full, was a woman who was still full of life. Despite her advanced age, she was involved with the city, the people around her and, as a true soccer fan, followed Ajax's exploits closely. The news of her sudden death received a lot of attention in newspapers, on the city broadcaster AT5 and the Ajax website.

Aunt Es (February 17, 1915 - February 14, 2025) was born in Nieuw Amsterdam where the rivers Suriname and Commewijne merge. She loved Suriname but left for the Netherlands in 1956 for health reasons. “The doctor prescribed rest for me.  He wanted me to go to Holland to regain my strength.” So she told Parool journalist Frenk der Nederlanden in 2023. “We traveled via America, but there I fell off my feet again. Only after six months did they let me go and I boarded the Holland America Line to the Netherlands.”

Before Aunt Es ended up in the Amsterdam Rivierenbuurt, she stayed with the Evangelical Brethren Church in Zeist and immersed herself in the Bible. “I corrected the Surinamese hymnal and added to the melodies. In Sranan, yes, although we used to speak plain Dutch at home. As soon as I felt better, I went back to Suriname, but after four years the doctor sent me back. The cool climate was better for my health, he thought. And so I went back and forth for years, until 1988, when I retired. In 2016, I went to Suriname for the last time.”

That Aunt Es would one day become the oldest Amsterdam resident could not have been predicted in advance. Her attitude to life and her humor must have helped. To people who asked her about the secret of becoming 100 years and older, she invariably replied that it was because she had given her heart to Ajax and to God. She never married because she wanted to travel. America, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Denmark, she has been everywhere up to the grave of her father and grandparents in China.

As an Ajax fan, she experienced all of her club's championships, but it wasn't until she was 108 that she attended a game. She was invited by Ajax to come to the Johan Cruijf Arena and meet the players. A super day! In response to Aunt Es' passing, Ajax wrote on its website, “The beloved Amsterdam native was not only an icon within the club, but also an important personality in the city.”

In 2023, she received the Heldenspeldeld, an award for Amsterdam citizens who have dedicated themselves with heart and soul to fellow citizens of the city. She also had that commitment to the Koningskerk in Watergraafsmeer, of which she was a valued member. The birthday service planned there for her 110th birthday was lovingly turned into a memorial service for this striking Amsterdamian.

Source: AT5, Het Parool and Ajax website