For 105-year-old Vera Valentine, her life has been filled with love, a beautiful family, and a whole lot of happiness.

Born in New York City in 1919, Valentine was raised by foster parents.

She spent some of her childhood in Maryland but eventually found her way back to New York.

That’s where she met Lester Valentine, the love of her life.

“She married in 1950, my dad was a World War II veteran, they both loved music,” said Karen Bates, her daughter. “Music has been in our family forever; she sang in the choir with my dad.”

Together they had two children, Karen and Kevin.

Vera Valentine spent decades as a nurse, but music was always the passion of her life.

Kendra Bates, Valentine’s granddaughter, said, “My grandfather was in a quartet, and she sang opera, so I heard her singing growing up.”

Valentine passed that love for music on to her two children, her four grandchildren, and now her great-grandchildren.

Kevin Valentine, her son, said: “She has this love for music, and she gave me my love for music.”

Vera Valentine spends her days now at Autumn Lake Healthcare at Crofton, but even at 105 years old her love for music and singing has never gone away.

“To have her tell the stories of her past and history is phenomenal,” said Bates.

When you ask Valentine what she is proudest of, her answer is her children. To this day she is still teaching them lessons.

“It’s perseverance, when obstacles are presented, you look at them and figure it out and keep moving forward,” said Kevin Valentine.

Her family says the key to her longevity is health, happiness, God and family.