At 106she attended the funeralof her sonSen. John McCain, and comforted her tearful granddaughterMeghan McCainduring the service.
On Thursday, Roberta McCain turned 107.
Meghan wished her grandmother a very happy birthday onInstagramandTwitter, writing that she is “the epitome of strength and grace, an American treasure and one of my life role models.”
“Thank you for showing me and so many others how to truly live life on your own terms,” Meghan wrote. “I love you.”
Later Thursday onThe Viewwhere she is a panelist, Meghan said she would be attending her grandmother’s party this coming weekend in D.C.
“She was born before the Titanic sank, and she’s been through wars,” Meghan said before noting Robert was a regular watcher ofThe View.
“Hi Nanna,” Meghan told her.
In August, as Roberta grieved the loss of her son, whodied of brain cancerat the age of 81, a close McCain family friendtold PEOPLEthat she was a “very strong woman” who’s retained her “spunky” spirit.
“She is all there, mentally, and is still going strong at 106,” the friend said. “She outlived her 81-year-old son. That tells you a lot. But it’s a tough blow to bury your child.”
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Meghan, 34,opened up to PEOPLEabout her relationship with Roberta ahead of her November 2017 wedding, four months after her father was diagnosed with stage-four brain cancer.
When asked about possibly not having her dad at her wedding, Meghan immediately thought of the endurance of her grandmother.
“The thing is [she] is 105 and still alive and well — my grandma Roberta,” Meghan said then. “This sounds arrogant, but it never even occurred to me that I wouldn’t live to be 105 and that all the people in my family wouldn’t live to be 105 because we have this really intensely weird DNA of strong people who live forever.
“So you just never think its going to be your family member,” she continued, “but … nobody knows what the future brings.”
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At 96, a seemingly ageless Robertagave a rousing speechduring Sen. McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign at election headquarters.
In 2007, when Roberta was 95, PEOPLE spent time on with her on her son’s presidential campaign bus, nicknamed the “Straight Talk Express.”
At one point, Roberta teased the senator, “I want to correct you when you start telling all those big lies.”
Birthday wishes also came in on Twitter from Mark Salter, a close friend and adviser to her son,who wrote: “Happy 107th birthday to an American original, Roberta McCain.”
Friend and journalist Greta Van Susteren shared her own warm wishes Thursday,tweeting, “Happy 107th birthday to my best friend Roberta McCain….we have had coffee every week for 15 years (?) and she has charmed me every time..she has traveled the world and is wise and has give me great advice (and she loves me…and I love her).”
source: people.com
