This Feb. 22, 2016, body seize from video reveals Virginia McLaurin in Washington.

Rick Gentilo/AP

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Rick Gentilo/AP

This Feb. 22, 2016, body seize from video reveals Virginia McLaurin in Washington.

Rick Gentilo/AP

OLNEY, Md. — Virginia McLaurin, the centenarian who danced excitedly with President Barack Obama and first girl Michelle Obama throughout a 2016 White House go to, has died. She was 113.

McLaurin’s son, Felipe Cardoso Jr., mentioned Tuesday that she died early Monday at her dwelling in Olney, Maryland.

“Rest in peace, Virginia,” the Obamas wrote on Twitter. “We know you’re up there dancing.”

McLaurin visited the White House for a Black History Month reception in February 2016, when she was 106.

“Hi!” McLaurin squealed as she was launched to the president.

“You want to say hi to Michelle?” Obama requested.

“Yes!” McLaurin mentioned, transferring shortly to provide the primary girl a hug.

“Slow down now!” the president mentioned. “Don’t go too quick.”

The ladies then held arms as they went into an impromptu dance, the president holding McLaurin’s arm.

“I thought I would never live to get in the White House,” she mentioned. “And I tell you, I am so happy.

“A Black president. A Black spouse! And I’m right here to rejoice Black historical past. Yeah, that is what I’m right here for.”

Video of the encounter quickly spread online, garnering worldwide information protection. After the temporary assembly, McLaurin advised reporters: “I could just die happy.”

Deborah Menkart, a good friend who helped prepare McLaurin’s 2016 go to, mentioned it dramatically modified her life. She mentioned McLaurin was residing “very frugally” on the time however her fame spurred folks to donate to a care fund for her.

“She got a new wig, she got new teeth, she was able to move to a better apartment,” Menkart mentioned.

Later that yr McLaurin appeared at a Washington Nationals baseball sport and was introduced with a crew jersey on the sector.

McLaurin additionally used her fame to assist others.

Born March 12, 1909, in South Carolina with no beginning certificates, McLaurin had been unable to get an ID card. Shortly after the White House go to, Menkart prompt they contact the mayor’s workplace and the Washington Post, which interviewed her and printed a narrative.

Washington metropolis officers quickly issued her a brief card and introduced new rules giving residents 70 and older extra choices to get IDs.

“It changed her life for not only herself, but also the clout she had,” Menkart mentioned.

A sharecropper’s daughter, McLaurin spent a long time upon retirement doing volunteer work at faculties. According to the Obama White House archives, she was a foster grandparent and a mentor to special-needs college students, serving to youngsters with studying and social expertise.

“She was just so carefree,” Cardoso mentioned. “She said her secret to life was not to worry, so she never let things worry her. She just didn’t pay it no mind.”

Cardoso mentioned McLaurin adopted him when he was 3.

“She loved and cared for everybody,” he mentioned. “She definitely had a big heart for the kids.”

Cardoso mentioned funeral preparations have been pending.