Ollie Edwards in 2016 when was presented with a proclamation from the mayor of the city of Linden in New Jersey in celebration of her 105th birthday. (City of Linden Mayor Derek Armstead)
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A 108-year-old woman with 37 great grandchildren has died of coronavirus complications in a New Jersey nursing home, according to a report.
Ollie Edwards may be one of the oldest people in the Garden State to die from the virus, the Newark Star-Ledger reports.
She died Saturday at the AristaCare at Delaire Nursing Home in Linden. A call to the nursing home from Fox News Monday was not immediately returned.
“Great grandmother, when I took my oath of honor, you were so proud of me,” the paper quoted great granddaughter Tan Edwards, a Clifton, N.J., police officer, as saying.
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“In the oath, I honor to protect and serve, and I am so broken-hearted that I was not able to protect you from COVID-19,” she said.
“I love you and will forever carry the Edwards last name.”
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Her death came amid weekend reports that there have been 252 coronavirus-related deaths linked to New Jersey nursing homes. New Jersey officials reported Monday. There were 64,584 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state and 2,443 deaths, according to Fox 29 Philadelphia.
Edwards grew up on a Georgia farm, picking cotton during the Jim Crow era, according to the paper.
She had a home in Newark for more than 70 years.
Over the years, she never let her family forget that she was the matriarch even as hip surgeries, dementia and vision and hearing loss slowed her down, the Star-Ledger reported.
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“I’m the captain of this ship, you are just a passenger, sit back and take a ride,” she would say, according to the family, the Star-Ledger reported. “I may be old, but I ain’t cold.”
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