BIOGRAPHY

Lieselotte Hemmerling was born in Bettenhausen, Hesse, Germany, on 7 December 1913. Her parents owned a tailor shop, and she initially trained as a bookseller. After marrying her first husband, Martin Dietrich—a pastor who sadly died in the war in 1941—she found her true calling as a pastor’s wife. She carried this calling into her second marriage to Johannes Hemmerling, also a pastor. She had five children.

During the Third Reich, she served as a leader in the BDM (League of German Girls), held confirmation classes, and stood firm in her beliefs, refusing to be silenced. She recalled once being detained and interrogated by the Gestapo for her defiance.

In the mid-1960s, the family returned to Bettenhausen. Together with her second husband, Johannes Hemmerling, she helped establish the Jakobus congregation in Eichwald, Bettenhausen, in the 1960s and managed the Protestant Educational Center on Pestalozzistrasse for 20 years. She remained active throughout her life, participating in courses, activities, and church services at the Stiftsheim. After the death of her second husband, who had been seriously ill, she dedicated herself with great commitment to new roles. She became a key contact and advocate for residents’ interests, helping newcomers settle in comfortably.

Around 2000, in her late 80s, she moved to the Ev. Altenhilfezentrum Stiftsheim Kassel, a home for the elderly in Bad Wilhelmshöhe, but didn’t transition to the nursing ward until she was 108. Until then, she lived almost independently in assisted living. At 109, she shared that she always preferred to look forward rather than dwell on the past. Despite her advanced age, she greeted each morning with gratitude and looked forward to the days ahead. At the age of 110, she had six grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Lieselotte Hemmerling passed away in Kassel, Hesse, Germany at the age of 110 years, 72 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age has not been validated.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Kassels älteste Einwohnerin: Lieselotte Hemmerling wird heute 108 Jahre alt” – HNA, 7 December 2021

* “Älteste Frau in Kassel wird 110 Jahre alt” – HNA, 9 December 2023

* “Kassels älteste Einwohnerin gestorben – Bewegtes Leben mit einer großen Konstante” – HNA, 21 February 2024

GALLERY