Supercentenarian Profile

Helene Byrne

Born:

1902-09-12

Harrison, Kootenai County, Idaho

United States

Died:

2013-06-27

Twin Falls, Idaho

United States

Helene May Byrne (née Glover) was an American supercentenarian.

BIOGRAPHY

Helene Byrne was born in Harrison, Kootenai County, Idaho, on 12 September 1902, to parents Charles Glover (1882–1941) and Florence McClure (1884–1940), the oldest of eight children. The family survived the Great North Idaho fires of 1910 and 1917. After the town of Harrison was destroyed in the 1917 fire, Helene completed her schooling in Kellogg, Idaho, graduating from Kellogg High School in 1920. She went on to attend Lewiston State Normal School, where she earned her teaching certification in 1922.

While teaching in Hagerman, Idaho, she met Lloyd Edwin Byrne (1898–1993), a banker from Buhl. They were married in 1927 at her parents’ home in Harrison, on the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Helene’s lifelong passion for flowers and gardening began in childhood. In 1989, she was appointed chairwoman of the Buhl City Parks Beautification Committee. At the age of 96, she was honored as Woman of the Year by the Buhl Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi in recognition of her work with the committee. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Buhl, P.E.O. Chapter S, the Order of the Eastern Star, Daughters of the Nile, and the Mentor Club.

Helene Byrne passed away at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls, Idaho, on 27 June 2013, at the age of 110 years, 288 days.

RECOGNITION

In September 2012, she celebrated her 110th birthday, becoming the first supercentenarian in the state of Idaho since 1994, when Catherine Bean turned 110.

Her age has not been validated.