( CNN ) -- Addie Polk , who became the national face of the foreclosure crisis last fall when she shot herself during an eviction , was a quiet woman who never asked for help . Polk , 91 , who was a deaconess at her church , was remembered by friends and churchgoers for her stateliness . Fannie Mae foreclosed on the Akron , Ohio , home of Addie Polk , 91 , after acquiring the mortgage in 2007 . `` She had runner 's legs , '' said Joyce Smith , a longtime family friend of Polk 's and fellow member of Antioch Baptist Church . `` They were well-shaped , well-shaped calves , and she still wore her heels and did n't stumble , '' Smith said . `` I used to ask her , 'Did you used to run ? ' She 'd say ' I would run from trouble , that 's about it , ' '' Smith said . `` We always laughed at that . '' But Polk did n't run from the troubling eviction notices that were placed time and time again on her door in Akron , Ohio . She kept her business to herself . `` She was n't a really vocal person , '' Smith said . `` She 'd communicate , but you never knew what was going on . If it was anything negative you did n't know ; if it was positive you did n't know . She was just quiet about her personal life . '' Polk , made news last fall when she shot herself during an eviction , died Monday at the Arbors at Fairlawn nursing home near Akron . She was 91 . The Summit County Medical Examiner 's office , when contacted Tuesday by CNN , said the cause of death has not been released but it was not related to the shooting . After Polk 's ordeal last October sparked national outrage , Fannie Mae moved to halt the foreclosure process and `` give her the house , '' company spokesman Brian Faith said at the time . `` We 're going to forgive whatever outstanding balance she had on the loan , '' Faith said . `` Given the circumstances , we think it 's appropriate . '' In 2004 , Polk took out a 30-year , 6.375 percent mortgage for $ 45,620 with a Countrywide Home Loan office in Cuyahoga Falls , Ohio . The same day , she also took out an $ 11,380 line of credit . Over the next couple of years , Polk missed payments on the 101-year-old home that she and her late husband purchased in 1970 . In 2007 , the mortgage was in the hands of Fannie Mae , which soon filed for foreclosure . Akron Sheriff 's Deputy Donald Fatheree , in a telephone interview with CNN on Tuesday , said he 'd personally been to Polk 's door about six times to deliver eviction notices . `` Never did reach her , but always left notes , '' Fatheree said . As part of the eviction process , authorities left writs of possession -- legal terms that informed the occupier of eviction -- on the front door of homes . Fatheree said each time he 'd return the notes would be gone , and he 'd leave another . Polk 's two self-inflicted gunshots to the chest were heard around the United States as the lifelong homemaker became a symbol for struggling U.S. homeowners burdened down by debt and unrelenting mortgage companies . News of Polk 's plight was so pervasive that U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich , D-Ohio , evoked her name on the House floor during debate over the Wall Street bailout just days after the shooting . `` This bill does nothing for the Addie Polks of the world , '' Kucinich said . `` This bill fails to address the fact that millions of homeowners are facing foreclosure , are facing the loss of their home . This bill will take care of Wall Street , and the market may go up for a few days , but democracy is going downhill . '' Sommerville Funeral Services in Akron will handle arrangements for Polk .
Addie Polk , 91 , became symbol of American foreclosure ##s . Was described as quiet , reserved woman who was fiercely independent . Democratic Rep. Dennis Johnson introduced her on Senate floor during bailout debate .