26 févr. 2026

Lenna Salisbury (1873 - 1923)

A life as a committed educator

Lenna Elizabeth Whitney was born in 1873 in the United States into a home dedicated to the Adventist mission. As a child, she followed her parents to Switzerland, where she discovered the life of service that was to become hers. After her father's death, she determinedly trained herself in literature, nursing and physical education. At the Battle Creek Sanitarium, her energy and benevolence set her apart.

Her marriage to Homer Salisbury in 1899 sealed a life together dedicated to missionary education. Together, they ran a school in England, then taught in the United States, before leaving for India in 1913.

Two years later, Homer's tragic death in the sinking of the S.S. Persia shattered her existence, but Lenna chose to continue serving until illness brought her home.

In 1921, having recovered, she resumed her work at Collonges as a preceptress. It was here that her dedication reached its peak. When the Spanish flu epidemic hit the school in 1923, Lenna kept a constant watch over her pupils. "Day and night, she moved from bed to bed," wrote the school newspaper. Thanks to her, all the girls survived. But Lenna, exhausted and infected in her turn, succumbed to double pneumonia on the night of January 21, 1923.

At her funeral, the entire school stood silently by as she gave her life in the service of others. Lenna Salisbury left behind a simple yet powerful legacy of unstinting devotion.