Herlda Senhouse

	Herlda Senhouse
	;
Birth:	28 February 1911; Piedmont, West Virginia, USA
Age:	113 years, 50 days
Country:	USA
	Validated

Herlda Senhouse (née Fairfax; born 28 February 1911) is an American supercentenarian whose age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). She is currently the oldest known living person in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.

Biography[]

Herlda Senhouse was born in Piedmont, West Virginia, USA on 28 February 1911 to John and Isabella "Belle" (née Saunders) Fairfax. Both of her parents died by the time she was six years of age. At the age of 16, Senhouse moved to Woburn, Massachusetts, USA, to an uncle and aunt's house. In 1931, she became the first in her family to graduate high school. At the age of 25, she married William Senhouse, who died in January 1998; they had no children.

Later in her life, Senhouse founded what was Boston's Clique Club, a social club of dancers and musicians to help educate Black students. She helped countless Black students pay for everything from books to college tuition.

On her 110th birthday in 2021, Senhouse could recall events from her childhood, including the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic. When asked for her secret to long life, Senhouse said "do your best to resolve issues, but if you can't fix it, forget it, let it go – that's how you get through life. Limit the stress."

At the age of 112, Senhouse was still able to walk with the help of a walker. Around May 2023, Senhouse was interviewed for a study regarding why so few centenarians have Alzheimer’s disease. In the fall of 2023, Senhouse fell ill and had to stay in the hospital for a short while. She fell ill again shortly before her 113th birthday, which she celebrated at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham, Massachusetts. She credits her longevity to a stress-free life and having no children.

Herlda Senhouse currently lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA, at the age of 113 years, 50 days. She has been the oldest known living person in Massachusetts since the death of Hazel Plummer on 25 May 2023 and is currently the third-oldest person in the United States after Elizabeth Francis and Naomi Whitehead.