Herbert and Sylvia Woods enjoyed a wonderful journey together as business partners and lifelong mates. Let’s take a look at some of the most memorable moments in the life of a soul food pioneer, Sylvia Woods.

Feb. 2, 1926: Sylvia Pressley was born to a farmer and a mid-wife in Hemingway, S.C. “I came from no lights to the bright lights,” said Woods of her journey. At the age of 11, she met Herbert Deward Woods, her future husband and business partner, while in the field picking beans. A few years later, Woods moved to New York to join her mother and found work in a Queens hat factory. In 1944, Sylvia married Herbert, her childhood sweetheart, when he moved North to be with her.

1950s: Ms. Woods found a job as a waitress at Johnson’s Luncheonette in Harlem, at 328 Lenox Avenue. For the woman who grew up poor in the Jim Crow South, her first day of work was also the first time she had ever set foot in a restaurant. Here we see where that first fateful step would take her.

Aug. 1, 1962: Julia Pressley, Sylvia’s mother, mortgaged her farm to loan her daughter the money to purchase Johnson’s Luncheonette. The namesake restaurant opened with just six booths and 15 stools and served up true Southern staples, like cornbread, collard greens, ribs and fried chicken, and the business expanded into catering. Over the years, the restaurant’s popularity grew beyond its local fan base to include tourists from all around the world as well celebrities such as Diana Ross, Muhammad Ali and politicians. Mayors David Dinkins, Edward Koch, and of course, former President Bill Clinton, enjoyed her food. “When people came to see me from all over America and the world and wanted to know what Harlem was like, I sent them to Sylvia’s, and they were made to feel welcome and at home,” said Clinton.

1979: New York Magazine food critic Gael Greene comes to Harlem (a daring feat back in the day for some). She dubs Sylvia’s ribs to be “moist and sassy,” and introduces the restaurant to a new audience.

1991: Director Spike Lee used the restaurant as a location for his 1991 film ‘Jungle Fever.’ Many will recall the famous scene where the waitress, played by Queen Latifah, gave Wesley Snipes’ character grief for daring to bring his white date to Sylvia’s.

1992: Sylvia’s son Van launches a line of Sylvia’s soul food products. Sold nationally, Woods’ offerings include many of her special sauces, vegetables, spices, and pancake and cornbread mixes — perfect for those who couldn’t make it to the restaurant, but wanted a taste of Sylvia’s magic.

1999: Sylvia publishes her second book “Sylvia’s Family Soul Food Cookbook: From Hemingway, South Carolina, to Harlem” with Melissa Clark. The first, “Sylvia’s Soul Food: Recipes From Harlem’s World Famous Restaurant,” with Christopher Styler, was published in 1992.

2001: In the spirit of gratitude and giving back, the Woods family creates the Sylvia and Herbert Woods Scholarship Endowment Foundation, which disburses 4-year partial scholarships to children in and around the Harlem community. In August of that same year, in recognition of forty years in business, Sylvia rings the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

February 2006: On her 80th birthday, Sylvia retires and passes the torch to her children Van, Bedelia, Kenneth, and Crisette, and to her 18 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. The queen rests, but the legacy and the business lives on.

2007: Al Sharpton helped now President Obama reach the black community in New York via Sylvia’s. “I remember when Sen. Barack Obama was coming to New York in 2007 to campaign in the backyard of Sen. Hillary Clinton and have a fund-raiser at the Apollo Theater,” Al Sharpton wrote for the Daily News, “He called me and said, ‘Let’s have dinner before we go to the Apollo to talk about how I see my race for President.’ I said, ‘Okay, where do you want to go?’ He said, ‘Sylvia’s, of course!’ Sylvia met us at the door. And as we sat in the window, eating soul food and discussing politics and policy, she was putting napkins in our laps like a mother does for her house guests.”

July 19, 2012: An honor and a goodbye. At Gracie Mansion, The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and Mayor Bloomberg presented Woods with an award for the 50th year milestone of Sylvia’s Restaurant. On that same day, Sylvia Woods died, after battling Alzheimer’s for the past several years. Tina McCrae and Councilwoman Inez Dickens received the honor on behalf of the family. At a beautiful wake at Harlem’s renowned Abyssinian Baptist Church on Tuesday, July 24 Mayor Bloomberg said, “She made you feel right at home… you sat down at the table and you were part of the family. She is a 100 percent, real-life New York City story.” Ceremonies followed at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, where Woods lived, and her final resting place will bring her right back where she started, South Carolina. Rest in peace, Sylvia Woods.

Driver Abraham Tucker holds open the door of the 1930 Rolls-Royce hearse carrying the body of Harlem restaurateur Sylvia Woods after her funeral at Grace Baptist Church on July 25, 2012 in Mount Vernon, New York. Woods owned the famed Sylvia’s Restaurant frequented by African-American celebrities and died on July 19 at the age of 86. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Pallbearers carry out the casket after a funeral of Harlem restaurateur Sylvia Woods at Grace Baptist Church on July 25, 2012 in Mount Vernon, New York. Woods owned the famed Sylvia’s Restaurant frequented by African-American celebrities and died on July 19 at the age of 86. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Rev. Al Sharpton (C) hugs a mourner after a funeral of Harlem restaurateur Sylvia Woods at Grace Baptist Church on July 25, 2012 in Mount Vernon, New York. Woods owned the famed Sylvia’s Restaurant frequented by African-American celebrities and died on July 19 at the age of 86. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Rev. Al Sharpton (C) and other mourners enter a funeral of Harlem restaurateur Sylvia Woods at Grace Baptist Church on July 25, 2012 in Mount Vernon, New York. Woods owned the famed Sylvia’s Restaurant frequented by African-American celebrities and died on July 19 at the age of 86. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A mourner prays at a funeral of Harlem restaurateur Sylvia Woods at Grace Baptist Church on July 25, 2012 in Mount Vernon, New York. Woods owned the famed Sylvia’s Restaurant frequented by African-American celebrities and died on July 19 at the age of 86. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Rev. Al Sharpton delivers the eulogy at a funeral of Harlem restaurateur Sylvia Woods at Grace Baptist Church on July 25, 2012 in Mount Vernon, New York. Woods owned the famed Sylvia’s Restaurant frequented by African-American celebrities and died on July 19 at the age of 86. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A man stands outside Harlem restaurant Sylvia’s after famed restaurateur and founder Sylvia Woods died yesterday on July 20, 2012 in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. The Harlem soul food restaurant is a cultural icon and has been visited by dignitaries including U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

People take a photo in front of an image of famed Sylvia’s restaurant founder Sylvia Woods outside the Harlem restaurant after she died yesterday on July 20, 2012 in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. The Harlem soul food restaurant is a cultural icon and has been visited by dignitaries including U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)