At 111, Philadelphia’s second-oldest resident dies
Willie Lassiter has been living in West Philadelphia since 1926. Despite spending most of her life in one place, she’s probably seen way more than the rest of us.
Lassiter died Monday, seven months after celebrating her 111th birthday.
She marked her birthday in September with Mayor Michael Nutter and friends at the Penn Center for Rehabilitation and Care, where she moved in 1999.
Lassiter started life in rural North Carolina, grew up in the segregated South and was the grandchild of slaves. She’d been celebrating her birthday with the city since turning 100.
Services are Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Mount Olivet Tabernacle Baptist Church in West Philadelphia.
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