‘D.C’s favorite centenarian’ Virginia McLaurin, who danced with Obamas, dies at 113

Centenarian Virginia McLaurin, who went viral for dancing with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, died on Monday, Nov. 14, at 113.

McLaurin, a longtime Washington, D.C., resident, had always dreamed of visiting the White House, according to the Obama White House archives.

Born in 1909 to a family of sharecroppers in South Carolina, McLaurin never imagined she would live to see the end of segregation, according to The Washington Post.

She married at 13 and moved to D.C. in 1939 after her husband died in a bar brawl, according to the publication.

In the years that followed, she became a “community member, a tireless DC schools volunteer, a fearless tenant leader, a tutor and mentor, and a devoted foster grandparent,” according to a Facebook post from D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George.

In 2016, McLaurin, then 106, was invited to the White House to meet with the president and first lady before a Black History Month Reception, according to the White House archives. It had been her dream to meet President Obama.

In a video that quickly went viral, McLaurin can be seen lifting her arms and dancing upon meeting the Obamas.

“I thought I would never live to get in the White House,” she said. “And I tell you, I am so happy. A black president! A black wife! And I’m here to celebrate black history. Yeah, that’s what I’m here for.”

Local outlets soon affectionately dubbed her “Grandma Virginia” and “D.C.’s favorite centenarian.”

She told The Washington Post that meeting the president and first lady was “the joy of my entire life,” adding, “I can die smiling now.”

She died after spending several days in hospice care, according to her Facebook page. She lived through the 1918-19 flu pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic and 20 presidential administrations.

This story was originally published November 15, 2022 at 9:38 AM with the headline "‘D.C’s favorite centenarian’ Virginia McLaurin, who danced with Obamas, dies at 113."