NEWARK, Ohio -- The 100-year-old matriarch of the family behind Ohio's Longaberger basket company has died.
Family members say Bonnie Jean Gist Longaberger died Sunday at a nursing home in Coshocton in eastern Ohio.
In a letter on the Longaberger Co. Web site, chief executive and president Tami Longaberger says her grandmother had remained active in the company and the community until recent years. She describes "Grandma Bonnie" as a resilient, loving woman with a zest for life.
Bonnie Longaberger raised 12 children at a home in Dresden, Ohio, next to a workshop where her husband, J.W. Longaberger, made baskets by hand and taught the craft to his children.
The Newark, Ohio-based company was founded by the couple's late son Dave Longaberger, father of the current CEO.
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