In a unique family reunion, Orphilia and Marie Anna (Gagné) Simard’s 14 offspring gathered to set a new Guinness World Record at their family home in Chelmsford on Sunday.
As of that moment, the 14 siblings carried a combined age of 1,167 years and 16 days – a “pretty remarkable” achievement, said Janet Halladay, whose father, Roger Simard, is the third-eldest of the siblings at age 92.
The extended family began talking a few years ago about how unique it was that all 14 siblings were still alive, when they decided to look up the Guinness World Record.
Set Nov. 1, 2020, the current record for the greatest combined age of 14 siblings is 1,095 years and 12 days. It was achieved by the children of Colin Horatio and Rose May Robertson in Sydney, Australia.
Even then, the Simard family had surpassed the record, and got the gears in motion to gather everyone together for a photograph to commemorate the event – an event that ended up being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dan Simard (Roger’s son) has compiled birth certificates, photo identifications, Statistics Canada information and other documents, in addition to material from Sunday’s gathering, in order to make their Guinness World Record official.
With most of the siblings still residing in the Greater Sudbury area and the farthest away living in Guelph, Halladay said getting everyone together wasn’t too great a hassle, though it was easier for some than others.
Roger, 92, is recovering from surgery, but was determined to be in the photograph, and did so.
Marc, 76, also recovering from surgery, was unable to attend so took part in the family gathering by Zoom, overlooking the festivities from behind a computer. He was the only of the 14 siblings unable to attend.
For the family photograph, Jean-Jacques, 88, held a computer on his lap featuring Marc’s livestream. To laughter from his siblings, he joked that it’d been some time since he had his younger brother on his lap.
The siblings range in age from Pierre’s 71 to twins Rollande and Yollande, who are both 94 years of age.
Orphila and Marie Anna were farmers, so their 14 children helped keep things running, Halladay said.
“Plus, they had no TV,” she added with a chuckle.
The family homestead has remained among the Simards, with Jean-Jacques purchasing the house upon their deaths in the early 90s. He has maintained residence there ever since.
Seeing everyone together at the old homestead “makes me feel really good,” Jean-Jacques told Sudbury.com on Sunday.
“I didn’t think it would happen … I didn’t think it was possible.”
Henri-Paul, 78, told Sudbury.com he has countless positive memories of growing up in Chelmsford.
“I cherished all the time I spent here with my brothers and sisters,” he said. “We have a fantastic family.”
World record attempt aside, he said the family reunion was “something special,” as it has been several years since they were (almost) all in the same location together – something that becomes increasingly difficult as health ailments come into play.
Growing up, he said his father was the disciplinarian and that his mom was “easy-going, and we used to run her around.”
The older kids were the ones who made sure the younger kids toed the line.
“We just had fun, that’s it,” Henri-Paul said. “At the meal time, there was a big long table … and everybody dug in.”
Referring to his mother as a “special person” who was a fabulous cook, he said his father was an “amazing provider.”
“We had enough for everyone to go around and we were pretty fortunate.”
Although Dan has yet to submit the documents, photographs and video evidence to the people of Guinness to make the world record official, it appears to have been set in Chelmsford on Sunday.
The following are the totals compiled Sunday to be submitted to the people of Guinness:
Rollande – July 7, 1928: 94 years 34,392 days
Yollande – July 7, 1928: 94 years 34,392 days
Roger – March 7, 1930: 92 years 33,784 days
Denise – Oct. 9, 1932: 89 years 32,837 days
Jean-Jacques – Aug. 21, 1934: 88 years 32,156 days
Muriel – May 30, 1936: 86 years 31,508 days
Odette – June 3, 1938: 84 years 30,774 days
Diane – March 16, 1940: 82 years 30,122 days
Pierrette – June 1, 1942: 80 years 29,315 days
Henri-Paul – April 15, 1944: 78 years 28,631 days
Marc – March 20, 1946: 76 years 27,927 days
Monique – May 29, 1947: 75 years 27,492 days
Lise – Feb. 4, 1949: 73 years 26,875 days
Pierre – May 12, 1951: 71 years 26,048 days
Total days: 426,253 = 1167 years, 0 months, 16 days
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
