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Woman At Aurora Care Center Celebrates 103rd Birthday Party

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - A Colorado woman celebrated her 103rd birthday on Thursday at a care center in Aurora. Emily "Lee" Roche was born in 1918 and she has lived through two pandemics -- first the Spanish Flu and now COVID-19. Belleview Heights Assisted Living & Memory Care was among the Colorado centers for older adults that was hit hard by the pandemic.

She is a devout Catholic who spent a lot of her time delivering communion at St. Bernadette's Cathedral in Lakewood.

Church is where she met her husband, having five boys, leading to 10 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren.

"It's just a great world, isn't it?" Lee told CBS4's Makenzie O'Keefe via Zoom.

The birthday party was complete with a crown and Roche's favorite kind of cake. She says her secret to a long life is her faith, and just "being a good girl."

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