Supercentenarian Profile

Henrine Lee

Born:

1904-07-27

Starkville, Mississippi

United States

Died:

2015-05-12

Inglewood, California

United States

Henrine Lee (née Quinn) was an American supercentenarian.

BIOGRAPHY

Henrine Lee was born in Starkville, Mississippi, USA, on 27 July 1904. She was the fifth of eight children born to Henry and Mattie Quinn. Her father was a farmer, and her mother served as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. She graduated from high school in Starkville, Mississippi, then attended Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. After college, she spent a year teaching and helped operate a family business.

In 1927, she married Samuel D. Lee, and the couple moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where five of their six children were born. Samuel worked first at a Siemens factory and later as an auto mechanic. He always managed to find work, even during the Great Depression, while Henrine dedicated herself to raising their children.

Once their children were grown, Henrine and Samuel followed one of their daughters to Los Angeles, sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s. There, Henrine discovered a new passion—horse racing. She often went with friends to the tracks at Santa Anita, Del Mar, and Hollywood Park, and on occasion even traveled to Mexico for the races.

According to her daughter, Henrine lived by moderation. She enjoyed a rum and Coke or bourbon and Coke now and then, and she had a weakness for sweets. Yet she maintained healthy habits well into her centenarian years.

Henrine Lee passed away in Inglewood, California, on 12 May 2015, at the age of 110 years, 289 days.