Iva Bowen celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and family Monday and gave this advice for living a long and healthy life: “Live and love.”

When Bowen was born in 1919 in Bourbon County, she was the 11th child in a family that grew to have 14 children, said her daughter, Jackie Pence of Stanford. Mrs. Bowen was the only one of her siblings to reach this milestone, she added.

On Monday, Pence, along with her husband, Alford, and daughter-in-law Heidi Pence celebrated Bowen’s special birthday with the staff and residents at McDowell Place of Danville, with a large birthday cake, balloons, and lots of well-wishes.

On Sunday, they began the celebration with a party in Stanford, complete with a live band, Jackie Pence said. Some of the guests traveled all the way from Columbus, Ohio, to help Bowen celebrate her 100th birthday.