Helda Senhaus, the second oldest person in the United States, died in her sleep on Saturday at the age of 113.
Senhouse died at her home in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where she had lived for the past 40 years, said Wellesley Public Affairs Officer Stephanie Hawkinson.
Hawkinson said Senhouse was an active member of the Wellesley community and enjoyed every moment of it, even when he was well into his hundreds of years of age.
“She never missed an opportunity to learn more, do more and experience more,” she said.
Hawkinson was a loyal friend of Senhouse's, meeting her on her 108th birthday and continuing to celebrate together every year thereafter.
Senhouse was born on February 28, 1911, in Piedmont, West Virginia, but was soon sent to live with an aunt in Woburn, Massachusetts. According to the Boston Globe, she graduated from high school in 1931 at the age of 16 with plans to pursue a career in nursing, but was turned away by the school she applied to because it had a quota of two black students.
From there, Senhaus pivoted to domestic work, working for several families over the years. She also founded the Boston Creek Club, a social club of dancers and musicians that sought to raise funds to improve educational opportunities for black students in the city.
Her extremely long lifespan continued to baffle scientists, so she enrolled in the New England Centenarian Study at age 105. The research aims to understand how people like Senhouse age so slowly that they can delay or avoid age-related diseases altogether.
Hawkinson said that in addition to Senhouse's dedication to research, she also decided to donate her brain to researchers after her death.
Ms Hawkinson said Ms Senhouse often attributed her longevity to not having children. But she was never alone, Hawkinson said, and was surrounded by a strong community of friends, family and church members.
“She was truly an inspiration to so many people in our community,” she said.
Senhouse's remarkable life spanned many of the most consequential periods in American history, including both World Wars, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, and two pandemics.
Her record is just barely surpassed by 114-year-old Naomi Whitehead of Greenville, Pennsylvania.
with post wire
