https://longeviquest.com/2026/11/lessie-randle-oklahomas-oldest-resident-turns-112/

Lessie Randle, Oklahoma’s Oldest Resident, Turns 112

Lessie Randle, the oldest living person in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, is celebrating her 112th birthday today in Tulsa.

Lessie Randle was born in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, on 10 November 1914, to parents George Washington Benningfield and Katie May. She had had three sisters and one brother. Her parents were farmers, originally from Texas.

At the age of six, she witnessed the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921. She recalled people coming to their home and forcing them out. Her family walked toward Mohawk Park, and along the way, soldiers arrived in a bus and picked them up. They were taken to the fairgrounds, where she thought they might have spent the night. She had been with her grandmother when it happened, while her parents were still at their home in the country. The next morning, after the turmoil had settled, her father hitched up his wagon and team in Bixby. Upon hearing about the massacre, he and her mother rode into Tulsa in the wagon to check on the family.

In the early 1940s, Lessie married Warner Randle, who was soon called to serve in the Army during World War II. He worked at the Oklahoma Steel Casting Company, at the steel mill. Together, they raised five children and a niece, bringing up three boys and three girls in all. In 1980, Randle lost her home in the Greenwood district when the City of Tulsa seized it as part of their urban renewal project.

On 10 October 2026, she was welcomed to the Obama Presidential Center. During her visit, she explored the campus, viewed President Obama’s portrait, visited a replica of the Oval Office, and spent time with one of the Foundation’s leaders.

Happy 112th Birthday!