YUCATAN, (July 22, 2021) .- After a life worthy of a book, Don Chepe passed away in the port of San Felipe, Yucatán, on Wednesday, July 21st, at 112 years old. Don Chepe was officially considered the oldest man not only in Yucatán but in all of Mexico.
An orphan since he was six years old, throughout his life he had two marriages, of which he had a total of 10 children, one of whom has already died.
As a result of his first marriage, he had a girl and two boys, one of whom died in adulthood. From his second marriage, he had six sons and one daughter, all of whom are still alive.
Don Jorge Durán y Cora, widely known in San Felipe as “Don Chepe”, was born in April 1909 in Panabá, Yucatán. He never knew his father and at the age of six, when his mother passed away, he was completely orphaned.
He was left in the care of a woman who loved him very much and treated him very well, but one day his uncles went to look for him and took him to San Felipe, where he grew up and lived the rest of his life.
The family of his uncles was very poor, but young Don Chepe managed to work for a living from a very young age.
Growing up, he worked in cattle ranches, but returned to San Felipe and found work as a sailor. As part of his memories, he told his grandchildren and great-grandchildren that he sailed from Progreso to Cozumel.
He finally decided to settle down, went to talk to the authorities and they told him to find a piece of land to work on it. In those years he used to get used to working in the agricultural sector.
That was when Don Chepe and his children began to work the land on which he lived until his last days.
He was convalescing for 15 days. He stopped eating and hardly drank water. At times they gave him some porridge, but he no longer wanted to eat anything.
When they asked him, he said that it didn’t hurt at all, only that he was already very tired.
When the doctor went to see him, he checked his blood pressure and he was fine, he had stable pressure for a person his age. And according to the doctor, his heart rate seemed stable. However, on Wednesday, July 21st, Don Chepe passed away quietly in the company of his relatives.
He is being veiled in what was his home in San Felipe. He will be buried In that same port. He even had his coffin ready as he had previously requested.
In the coffin, which was tailor-made at Don Chepe’s request, homage is paid to the activities that he carried out during his long life. The coffin has a carved ship in memory of his times as a sailor; also a corn cob from his days as a farmer.
In his youth, he led a healthy life, he did not get drunk. He had a few drinks but without excesses. He also had a good diet, eating natural products that he used o harvest on his own property.
He didn’t try Coca-Cola until he was in his 70s, and he didn’t really like bottled sodas. He worked a lot and practically his whole life he went to bed at 6 or 7 at night to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning the next day.
In his life, he had many deficiencies, but that did not prevent him from being happy, even he said that those deficiencies that he had as a child made him see life differently.
The Yucatan Times Newsroom expresses its sincerest condolences to Don Chepe’s family and friends.
Rest in peace Don Jorge Durán y Cora “Don Chepe”.
Source: Yucatán ahora
The Yucatan Times Newsroom