If you ask the sharp-witted Vera Scholtis, 101, what is her secret to a long life, you might get several answers. She eats chocolate every day, rarely drinks and has never smoked. But her daughter Renee Pillor believes the source of Vera’s longevity is heaven-sent: “She prays every day.”

Vera, a parishioner of St. John the Apostle Church in Leesburg, said her story began far across the Atlantic. She was born May 11, 1924, and grew up the “oldest and smallest” of four girls in the port town of Hamburg, Germany. Her mother was Lutheran, her father Catholic, but Vera said her mother was very supportive of raising the children in the Catholic faith, attending Vera’s first Communion. When Vera was 9, her mother died after the delivery of her fourth child, and the girls were sent off to boarding school.

Much of Vera’s childhood was overshadowed by war. “We had to stay home, had curfew all the time,” she said. “We couldn’t go out; you had to keep it dark because of the bombers.”

Vera’s family staunchly opposed the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party in the early 1930s, but as time went on, it became harder for the family to hide from the Nazi party’s impact. Vera’s sister Gisela was forced to go work in a munitions factory outside Hamburg. Vera’s father owned a flower shop at the train station of Dammtor Bamhof, and dignitaries would often make large floral purchases for the “führer.”

But the family tried their best to stay well-informed amid a storm of propaganda. Although it was illegal for Germans to listen to any radio programs other than German propaganda programs, Vera’s family would tune in secretly to the BBC to learn about the reality of the war, as opposed to the German broadcasts that spread Nazi disinformation.

One of the many horrors Vera witnessed during the war was seeing Hitler himself. Vera remembered that in the early 1940s, Hitler visited Hamburg, and her family was stopped in the street as the Nazi motorcade passed by. As Hitler’s car passed, she saw him standing in the car, giving the Nazi salute to the crowd. The war’s horrors would only increase.

In 1943, Hamburg suffered a devastating bombing, producing a firestorm and killing more than 40,000. While the family’s house remained fairly unscathed, another bombing nearly killed them.

Vera said that Hamburg was bombed again in 1945; this time, one of the bombs struck too close to home. The blast buried the family alive in their house. Vera said that while she and her family lay beneath the rubble, neighbors broke into what remained of the basement. “They found us in the nick of time, all unconscious,” she said. The neighbors hauled everyone out of the rubble, saving their lives. Vera said that throughout the war, the family prayed that God would protect them, and in that moment, God provided.

But with no communications, the family could not reach Gisela, who was still working in the munitions factory. “When she came home, there was no home,” Vera said.

In the aftermath of the war, Vera felt compelled to move away from war-torn Europe. She emigrated to Canada in 1952, sponsored by St. Michael Church in Toronto. There, she gave birth to her first daughter, Renee. Although the pregnancy was unplanned, Vera persevered in faith through the full term. Today, the mother and daughter are pro-life advocates, having spent many years marching in the National March for Life in Washington.

During her first few years in Toronto, Vera worked long hours as a nanny, receiving only one afternoon off a week. She eventually met and married Eberhard Scholtis in 1957. A year later, the couple welcomed their daughter Monica.

The family moved to the coastal town of Monterey, Calif., where they later had twin boys, Leonard and Christopher, and another girl, Angela. From there, the family of seven set off on a series of moves across the country, including New York, Maryland and Florida. During those years, Vera’s work included operating a Hallmark store in Florida and teaching German at the State University of New York in Plattsburg.

As if being a mother, teacher and businesswoman wasn’t enough, “I had many hobbies,” she said. She enjoyed bike rides throughout her 40s and made ice skating a regular family activity — she even celebrated her 80th birthday with a trip to the ice rink. She continued to give back to the church community, creating vibrant floral arrangements for the altar.

But Vera’s longtime hobby is drawing. “My mother had the talent,” she said. “You have to be a good observer to be a good artist.” The primary objects of her art are seashells, which she drew with dedicated precision. “God is the greatest artist, and he doesn’t make any flaws,” she said. She also used her artistic skills to promote the faith. In celebration of the bimillennial in 2000, she created prayer cards bearing slogans such as “I will love you with an everlasting love,” and “Christus Regnat, Christus Imperat,” which translates to, “Christ now rules, Christ now reigns supreme.” She would deliver the cards, as well as religious brochures, to churches and even hand them out to people she met on the street. Renee also worked to spread her mother’s artwork through the creation of an online pro-life organization, Artists for Life.

Several moves later, Eberhard and Vera settled in the Washington area. They lived in Locust Grove, before Eberhard died in 2015. Today, Vera lives in Leesburg with Renee and her husband, Dave, continuing her artistic and evangelizing endeavors. She never lacks for company; family and friends visit her often, including her 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

“I came all by myself over the ocean,” she said. “Now, I have a family of over 50 people.”