As the years rolled by, Sister Anne Samson began to wonder whether God had forgotten her.
But the woman listed as the seventh oldest person in the world, died Monday at the age of 113, three months shy of her 114th birthday.
She is believed to have been Canada's oldest person.
Sister Anne's funeral will be held on Thursday at the Daughters of Jesus convent in Moncton, N.B., where she spent her last years.
"She was very peaceful at the end," said Sister Rita Poirier in an interview from the convent on Wednesday. "She didn't suffer. She just stopped breathing."
Sister Rita said that information received from gerontology researchers in Atlanta indicated that Sister Anne was seventh oldest in the world at the time of her death.
Researchers in Canada and the United States had verified her birth date as Feb. 27, 1891.
"We were told that if she lived until Feb. 27, 2005, we should have a big birthday party for her and we had planned to do that," Sister Rita said. "We will miss her. She has been around so long. She was one of us."
Guinness World Records lists the oldest person in the world as Hendrikje Van Andel-Schipper, who was born in the Netherlands on June 29, 1890.
In Canada, the oldest woman is now considered to be a Montreal woman. Bertrand Desjardins, a gerontologist at the University of Montreal, said Julie Winnefred Bertrand turned 113 on Sept. 16.
Although many people were quietly hoping Sister Anne would pull ahead in the world rankings, Sister Rita said her death has brought a sense of relief.
"It was a long wait for her," she said.
Annie Samson lived in three centuries.
When she was born in Cape Breton, Canada was still in its infancy. It was the last year in office, and in life, for prime minister John A. Macdonald.
In Europe, queen Victoria ruled with vigour and determination.
That same year, the first automobile was invented in France; Canadian James Naismith came up with the idea for basketball and a young Harry Houdini decided he would try his hand at professional magic.
"She kept up with what was happening," Sister Rita said. "But it was a bit hard for her to accept all the changes."
Sister Anne was a schoolteacher - at the Normal College in Truro, N.S., in 1912, the year the Titanic sank - before entering the convent, taking her vows in 1917.
"She taught for 30 years," Sister Rita said. "She was firm, but very kind. Her pupils really loved her."
She said Sister Anne lived a healthy life, getting plenty of rest and good nutrition.
Great-great niece Joan Sheehan, who lives in Dartmouth, N.S., agreed that nutrition may have played a role in her relative's long life.
Sister Rita said Sisgter Anne was not suffering from any illnesses at the time of her death and was conscious until the end, although she spent much of her time sleeping.
"She simply died of old age."