Perfect and beautiful accounts of history came easily from Gladystine Green.

She grew up in Gainesville before there was a lake and a bustling city. She lived through the tornado in 1936, and she sat with other young black adults for sit-ins in the 1960s.

But above everything else, she was a woman dedicated to her faith.

"I have had a full life," Green said during a 2007 interview with The Times. "I fought for racial equality. I have done everything that I could do to make my race accept the challenges that were set before us and get up and do something about it."

Green died Thursday at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. She was 96.

Longtime friend Charri Jones is the secretary at Green’s church, St. Paul United Methodist in Gainesville, and was by Green’s bedside on Thursday just before her death.

"Her favorite song was ‘Victory in Jesus,’" Jones said. "So I sang it to her yesterday. I don’t know if she heard me, but I had to do it."

Green was the oldest active member and oldest church mother of St. Paul. She was a member of the church for 87 years.

"I tell you what, I don’t know how to sum up Gladystine Green," Jones said. "She loved her church. She was dedicated. She believed what she believed and never wavered."

Green moved to Trenton, N.J., after attending high school at Clark Atlanta University. She married Paul Green of Philadelphia. In 1996, she returned to Gainesville and lived on her own.

"We never had any children," Green said in 2007. "My nieces and nephews take care of me just like they gave birth to me. Sometimes I feel guilty that they have given me so much love. I know biological parents that don’t get half as much love as I do."

Green was a member of the United Methodist Women at St. Paul and served as a communion steward, among other activities.

Her family in Gainesville includes niece and nephew Linda and George Hutchens, grand niece Diane Hutchens, and cousins Jocie Billingsley and Helen Hendricks, who live in Alpharetta.

Green’s funeral arrangements will be handled by Greenlee’s Funeral Home in Gainesville. The family will determine the funeral date Saturday.