Beloved 113-Year-Old Wellesley Woman Donated Brain Before Dying

Wellesley's Herlda "Auntie" Senhouse cast a mail-in ballot in the November 5, 2024 presidential election. It was one of the last things she would do before she passed away.

The Town of Wellesley website says Senhouse was "the oldest resident in Wellesley and Massachusetts" when she "passed away peacefully in her sleep" on Saturday, November 16, 2024. She was 113.

Her obituary on the Burke Family Funeral Homes website says, "Senhouse is the holder of Wellesley's Boston Post cane, which is given to the town's oldest resident."

"She was believed to be the oldest woman in New England and fourth oldest in the United States," the site says.

The Town says Senhouse "was a true inspiration and role model with her warm and generous spirit, kindness, and zest for life."

A Life Well Lived

Herlda Fairfax was born in Piedmont, West Virginia, on February 28, 1911, to John and Belle Fairfax.

Her obituary says, "By the time she was 6 years old, both of her parents and about half of her nine siblings had died."

Senhouse told WCVB's Rhondella Richardson, "We didn't have any adults to raise us, so we raised ourselves."

When she was 16, Senhouse moved in with family in Woburn, Massachusetts, where she attended school. One of only two black students in her class, Senhouse was the first in her family to graduate from high school.

Senhouse and her husband William married in 1936 and remained together until his death 62 years later. The couple had no children.

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Senhouse Made a Difference in Her Community

WCVB reported, "Senhouse founded what was Boston's Clique Club, a social club of dancers and musicians to help educate Black students."

"Senhouse helped countless Black students pay for everything from books to college tuition through the Clique Club," according to WCVB.

Donating Her Brain to Study Long Life

The Town of Wellesley says Senhouse "made arrangements to have her brain donated to researchers to help further studies on longevity."

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