Elsie Martin was a validated American supercentenarian who died in 2022 at the age of 111.
Elsie Martin was born on August 18, 1910, in Herbert’s Post Office, a logging camp in Northern Michigan, as the youngest of nine children. Her family later moved to a farm in West Branch, Michigan, and then to Saginaw, Michigan. Self-taught in piano and guitar, she graduated from Saginaw High School in 1927 and began working for Bell Telephone.
In 1928, she married her husband, and they had five children. The family relocated to Detroit, where she worked at Detroit Diesel until the end of World War II. After becoming a widow in 1972, Martin chose to live independently rather than with her children.
In her later years, she enjoyed visiting Odawa Casino, playing conservatively, and often leaving with minimal winnings. She received her driver’s license at 50 and continued driving until she was 96. At 96, Martin moved to an apartment in Gaylord. At 99, she broke her hip but still managed to walk with a walker by her 107th birthday.
Longevity was present in her family: two of her sisters lived to the ages of 103 and 102, and two brothers lived to be 96 and 97.
Elsie Martin died in Gaylord, Michigan, on 24 February 2022, at the age of 111 years, 190 days.
LongeviQuest congratulates Elsie Martin’s family on her posthumous recognition.
For more information, please view Mrs. Martin’s Directory Profile here.