After three decades of protest, White House's 'Connie' dies

Concepcion Picciotto, a Spanish immigrant who has held a peace vigil in front of the White House since 1981 has died on Monday.

The long time peace activist who is known as "Connie" or "Conchita" died at a facility for homeless women a short distance away from her anti-nuclear proliferation vigil site on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC.

Picciotto who is believed to be 80-year-old, worked in the economic and commercial office of the Spanish embassy in New York, however a personal tragedy led her to the US capital where she set up her long-time vigil.

"I used to live in New York, and something happened to me that opened my eyes to the reality of what this nation is doing, the government. And that is why I am here," Picciotto said in a 2005 interview with the DCist website.

Over the long years that she has camped outside the White House, Picciotto has reported being harassed and beaten by authorities, who finally moved her across the road from the president's residence.

Asked about her opinion in 2005 on the successive presidents who have occupied the White House since she set up her peace vigil, Picciotto believed that they were all corrupt but George W. Bush was the worst.

"This guy [Bush], when he took office, the president said, 'I have come to carry on my father's work.' His father's work is the genocide in Iraq. The president should come and say, 'I have come to represent and serve American people as a public servant.' But he didn't say that, only to carry on his father's work," she told the DCist.

Picciotto's life mission was to raise awareness about the corruption in politics that usually leads to wars in which innocent people are killed, and her dedication to her cause turned her vigil into a landmark for the capital's visitors.

Picciotto's health started deteriorating in 2012 after a taxi hit her as she rode her bike.

Her injuries forced her to scale back her protests and Picciotto began to rely on young activists to man the vigil.

In 2013, the longtime peace activist told The Washington Post that she has to be at the vigil, "This is my life".