POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The oldest known resident in Dutchess County celebrated her 112th birthday on Thursday. Bessie Marianne Riley was born on May 28, 1914.

She has lived through two world wars, four global flu pandemics, 20 U.S. presidents and more than a century of change in Poughkeepsie.

A lifelong resident, Riley was the fifth of eight children. She is not the first in her family to live over 10 decades, her sister lived to be 105.

As a child in the 1920s, attending segregated schools, Riley spent a lot of time in a one-room schoolhouse. She later worked as a dining room attendant at Hudson River Psychiatric Center for 17 years before retiring in 1975. She got married and had four children, two boys and two girls.

Deeply involved in her church community, Riley spent more time there than anywhere else. She served on the Missionary Circle and the Ladies Auxiliary, was a Sunday school superintendent and sang in the church choir for more than 50 years.

Today, her family continues to grow. She has seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, 11 great-great grandchildren, and one great-great-great-grandchild.