It’s possible that no one embodies Women’s History Month more that the Countess Henrietta de Hoernle, who will literally leave her mark on Boca Raton.
The de Hoernle name is on countless buildings from the stage in the Mizner Park Amphitheater to the lobby of The Wick Theatre & Costume Museum to the Spanish River Athletic Facilities at de Hoernle Park.
She has made major gifts to nearly 150 nonprofits from Boca Raton Regional Hospital and Lynn University to Boca Helping Hands and the Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum since she and her late husband Count Adolph de Hoernle moved here in 1981. That tradition of philanthropy wasn’t new; the couple brought it with them. She volunteered in a Bronxville, N.Y. hospital thrift shop and they started providing music scholarships.
The countess likes to say she’s an American by choice. She was born on Sept. 24, 1912 in Karlsruhe in southwest Germany, and immigrated to live with her grandparents in Queens in 1931.
That makes her 102 years old and counting, a milestone celebrated by more than 700 people who sang “Happy Birthday” at the concert in her honor last fall at Lynn University. She had a mild stroke and couldn’t attend. But her daughter Carol Wagman read her prepared remarks and joked about getting explicit instructions.
The countess recovered. But she’s mostly homebound now, and regrets she can’t be active on boards, as she once was. But she still plays cards and there are countess sightings.
What does it mean to you to see the de Hoernle name on a structure?
What other people see, other people do. It’s an incentive to others. One day I was walking to my car at Lynn University and a student came up to me and said, ‘I think it’s wonderful and I made my parents to do the same thing.’ It does help. When you have money you should give it wisely. What good is your money when you’re gone?
The Wick theater was one of your last big donations and you were there for the lobby dedication. What made you do that?
The theater is beautiful and draws people to Boca. I’ve been all over the world and she [Marilynn Wick] does good shows and provides employment.
Do you have a bucket list?
I would like to take another cruise and I miss that. I play bridge five times a week and that keeps me going. I go out to luncheon once in a while.
Do you have any strong feelings about your longevity?
I’m very proud to have another day to help somebody.
Why do you want to help?
I love people, I love to help people and I feel very, very good about it when I hear someone say something. If people realized how wonderful it is to be able to give…
Are you still interested in giving?
I feel my work is not done. I have a feeling there’s something else I have to do that is important. The sports people [who use the playing fields in de Hoernle park] always want to stay healthy. I have to watch and see what develops. I believe in sports and what’s good for the body and mind.
Commander Isabelle K. Paul, The Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller [Malta], which organized events for de Hoernle’s 100th and 102nd birthdays as benefits had this to say about de Hoernle:
“Countess de Hoernle is truly an angel on earth who at the age of 102 1/2 continues to think of the sick and the poor. She inspires us to live by her motto: ‘Give while you live.’ May God bless her always and in all ways.”
