STEPHENS CITY — Kathryn Koerner, of Middletown, had so many people show up and speak to her during her 100th birthday party on Saturday that she didn't even have time to eat. 

About 200 people attended the celebration at Stephens City United Methodist Church, where Koerner has been a member of since 1986. Koerner's former pastor, Waverly Reames, 74, of Winchester, and her children planned the event.

Guests traveled from North Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio to see Koerner on her big day. Party-goers included people from Koerner's church, her friends, neighbors and family members. Also in attendance were Stephens City Mayor Mike Grim, Middletown Mayor Charles Harbaugh and Frederick County Sheriff Lenny Millholland.

"You could just feel love in that room," Koerner said after the celebration.

Koerner was born in Parsons, W.Va., on Nov. 10, 1918. At that time, a gallon of gas was 23 cents, the average cost of a new home was $2,200, and the cost of a daily newspaper was 2 cents. Koerner lived through the Great Depression, and her mother died in 1930 just shy of her 40th birthday, leaving Koerner's father to raise four children on his own. One year during the Great Depression, Koerner said her family ate eggs and potatoes for most meals.

Asked her secret to longevity, Koerner said she didn't think she had one, but later joked that it might have been the egg-and-potato diet. She added that she's never had an alcoholic drink or smoked a cigarette, so she suspects that may have helped her live such a long life.

On top of that, Koerner still drives and lives on her own. She said she always tries to keep herself busy, whether she's having lunch with friends, talking with family members on the phone each day, reading, or going to church on Sundays. Her favorite book is "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. 

Koerner's current pastor, Rob Schoeman, 52, of Cross Junction, said she's very dedicated to going to church, even though she has trouble hearing. He said she asks every week for a written copy of his sermon so she can read along as he preaches. He described Koerner as a "matriarch" of the church. 

When she was working, Koerner was a nurse at the Veterans Administration hospital in Martinsburg, W.Va. Then she volunteered at Winchester Medical Center. After that, she began a quilting class. She has won several awards for her quilting. Unfortunately, Koerner can't quilt anymore because she now has arthritis. 

Koerner has three children, eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Her husband Clarence "Butch" Koerner died about 26 years ago, she said, and she never remarried.

"You would think I'm lonesome. As far as I'm concerned, he's still around," Koerner said. "I always said I'm a one-man woman."

Judy Koerner, 67, of North Carolina, said Koerner has been her mother-in-law for nearly 50 years, but said she's more like a biological mother than an in-law. 

"She is the most ladylike person I've ever known in my life. She's just an elegant, classy lady. She's really the kind of mother that everyone would want," Judy Koerner said.