Eula M. Cousins. Photo courtesy of Philly.com.

Eula M. Cousins, a social worker and one of America’s oldest living citizens, died on Jan. 30 in Philadelphia, according to Philly.com.

Cousins was born in 1902 in Elizabeth City, N.C. She was a teacher in the South but due to segregation was not allowed to teach in Philadelphia. So she studied at Temple University to become a social worker.

Cousins went on to work for the Municipal Court and other agencies for 55 years.

When she turned 110 last September she received a letter from President Obama and the First Lady and a visit from Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.). She was an avid reader and stayed up on current events until her death.

“She was one of the most dynamic individuals I have ever met,” said Acel Moore, associate editor emeritus of The Inquirer, who was a longtime friend. “She could engage me on any political issue of the day.”

Her husband William Montgomery Cousins, one of the city’s first black optometrists, died in 1979 after the couple had been married 44 years. Eula M. Cousins is survived by a niece and nephew and grand-niece and grand-nephew.