Isabella Runfola's life took her from Pennsylvania to Buffalo to Italy and back to Buffalo by the time she was 18, and that was before she won Charleston dancing competitions and met her future husband. But throughout her life, which lasted more than a century, she was a champion for others.

“She loved everyone, including those who did not love themselves, and believed in everyone, including those who did not believe in themselves,” said her son, John Runfola. Mrs. Runfola, a longtime volunteer for several Buffalo charities, an avid dancer and widow of prominent attorney Joseph P. Runfola, died peacefully in her sleep May 17 at her home in Marin County, Calif. She was 103.