Despite a petition, protest march and neighbor-erected fences, a South Carolina woman had vowed she would die before she would stop flying a Confederate flag in her predominantly black community. But a recent heart attack has yielded a change of heart.

The Post and Courier reports that after seven years of clashing with neighbors, Annie Caddell replaced the battle flag with a state flag Wednesday. The 58-year-old woman says the heart attack and subsequent triple bypass surgery led her to reflect on past choices. She concluded she wanted unity in her community and to apologize to those she offended.

More than 270 people had signed a 2010 petition asking Summerville to intervene, but officials said she had the right to fly the flag, which she'd said honored her heritage.

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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com