| Notes |
- Even though her father died when she was five years old, she had a very happy childhood in Hammonton.
She lived next door to her Bassett grandparents on Bellevue Avenue. When Lillie was thirteen years old,
her mother re-married Jay C. Dorphley. They then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There the family
increased by two, Madeline and Norman, Lillie's half sister and brothe
After completing public school, Lillie enrolled in a business school. Later she became a stenographer
for Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia.
She met Edwin Ralph Kingery in a church play and they were married 6 Jul 1917. They lived in
Philadelphia, Audubon, New Jersey, and Dover, Delaware. There they built a nice house on Pennsylvania
Avenue.
During the summer of 1937 Lillie and Edwin were separated. They lost the house on Pennsylvania
Avenue and a beach cottage at the Delaware Shore. They were divorced in July 1945. Edwin remarried
but died in 1947. At age 56, Lillie was forced to find employment and support herself. She spent all her
remaining years fiercely guarding her independence and her bank account. Her bills were always paid
on time and in person. Although she kept close track of her money, she loved to give gifts to her family
and friends. She is remembered by her grandchildren as having a great sense of humor.
At the age of 95 she fell and broke her hip. Since it was no longer possible for her to live alone,
she entered Kent Convalescent Center in Smyrna, Delaware. She recovered from her broken hip but
needed a wheel chair to get around the nursing home. Her mind and memory remained remarkably sharp.
At the age of 96, she told many stories about her childhood in Hammonton; days of horse-drawn buggies,
kerosene lamps and cold covers warmed by heated bricks.
Lillie Bassett Kingery died of heart failure on 18 Jun 1988, aged 96 years, 10 months and 18 days.
She is buried in Greenmount Cemetery in Hammonton, New Jersey in the Bassett family plot.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1891 - 1988 (96 years)