Ottis Lee Lawrence has lived an exceptional life.

A gifted storyteller, Lawrence loves to gab, dance and enliven whatever room she enters with her smile and charm. Known as "Mama," since she loves to take care of others, Lawrence celebrated her 106th birthday Friday, making her one of Monroe County's oldest residents.

The granddaughter of slaves and the eldest child of sharecroppers, Lawrence was born in 1913 on a farm in Branford, Florida. Like her seven siblings, she worked the land, harvesting cotton and peanuts, among other crops.

Her mother taught her to cook at age 5 — and today Lawrence is still known for specialty recipes, including collard greens, fried corn and her famed biscuits. She taught herself to read and write since she never had formal education. She also made her own clothes.

In 1942, Lawrence and her late husband, Esix, moved to the Rochester region, where she worked as an office cleaner downtown and worked on a farm in the area, she said. Esix died in the mid-1980s.

The couple had one daughter, who died of a medical issue as an adult, she said.

Now a resident of Penfield Place nursing facility, Lawrence shimmied her arms this week and said she loves to "shake, rattle and roll."

"She is the love of everyone in this house," said her nurse Tracy Avery. "Everyone in the building calls her 'Mama,' even other patients' families."

Lawrence, who has lived through two World Wars, the Great Depression and wars in Vietnam, Korea and Iraq, said she can't pinpoint a secret to her longevity.

"It has changed so much," she said. "I just keep busy."

But one feeling is constant; adoration for her two heroes — President Barack Obama and the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

She also wants to make sure Americans study the nation's history. Specifically, she says she believes such education will to ensure that past actions — such as slavery — are not repeated.

VFREILE@Gannett.com