text: File-This Aug. 5, 1966, file photo shows members of the Trapp family as they gave a public concert at the family lodge in Stowe, Vermont,under the direction of Msgr, Franz Wasner, their chaplain, and... (Associated Press) 
   
   File-This Aug. 5, 1966, file photo shows members of the Trapp family as they gave a public concert at the family lodge in Stowe, Vermont,under the direction of Msgr, Franz Wasner, their chaplain, and... (Associated Press) 
   
   STOWE, Vt. (AP) — Maria von Trapp, the last surviving member and second-eldest daughter of the musical family whose escape from Nazi-occupied Austria was the basis for "The Sound of Music," has died. She was 99. 
   
   Von Trapp died at her home in Vermont on Tuesday, according to her brother Johannes von Trapp. 
   
   "She was a lovely woman who was one of the few truly good people," he said. "There wasn't a mean or miserable bone in her body. I think everyone who knew her would agree with that." 
   
   Maria von Trapp was the last surviving member of the seven original Trapp Family Singers made famous in "The Sound of Music." She was portrayed as Louisa in the 1959 Broadway musical and a 1965 film, which won the Oscar for best picture. 
   
   She was the third child and second-oldest daughter of Austrian Naval Capt. Georg von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead von Trapp. Their seven children were the basis for the singing family in the musical and film. 
   
   "The Sound of Music" was based loosely on a 1949 book by von Trapp's second wife, also Maria von Trapp, who died in 1987. It tells the story of an Austrian woman who married a widower with seven children and teaches them music. 
   
   In 1938, the family escaped from Nazi-occupied Austria and performed concert tours throughout Europe and then a three-month tour in America. The family settled in Vermont in the early 1940s and opened a ski lodge in Stowe. 
   
   Von Trapp played accordion and taught Austrian dance with sister Rosmarie at the lodge. 
   
   She wrote in a biography posted on the Trapp Family's website that she was born in the Austrian Alps after her family fled fighting from World War I and that she was surrounded by music growing up. 
   
   "Father played the violin, accordion and mandolin. Mother played piano and violin," she wrote. "I have fond memories of our grandmother playing the piano for us after meals." 
   
   Her biography on the website also said that she worked as a lay missionary in Papua, New Guinea. 
   
   Rosmarie von Trapp, Johannes von Trapp and Eleonore Von Trapp Campbell were born to Georg von Trapp and Maria von Trapp. ||||| Austrian-Inspired Lodging in Beautiful Stowe, VT 
   
   A Little of Austria...A Lot of Vermont®! Situated on 2,500 acres in beautiful Stowe, Vermont, Trapp Family Lodge is a unique mountain resort featuring Austrian-inspired architecture and European-style accommodations. Our Lodge offers stunning mountain views, old-world comforts, and impeccable service, along with activities for every season.
target: – The final surviving member of the singing von Trapp family that fled the Nazis in World War II and inspired The Sound of Music has died at the age of 99 in Stowe, Vt. Maria von Trapp was the third of seven children of Georg von Trapp and his first wife; she was the inspiration for Louisa in the famous musical and film. "She was a lovely woman who was one of the few truly good people," said brother Johannes von Trapp, a son born later to Georg von Trapp and his second wife, also named Maria. "There wasn't a mean or miserable bone in her body. I think everyone who knew her would agree with that." After escaping Austria, the von Trapps settled in Stowe, eventually opening a ski lodge, where Maria von Trapp played accordion and taught Austrian dance with a younger sister. She recalled, well, the sounds of music surrounding her early years in an online biography, notes the AP. "Father played the violin, accordion, and mandolin. Mother played piano and violin," she wrote. "I have fond memories of our grandmother playing the piano for us after meals." She also served as a missionary in Papua, New Guinea. The family was fairly long-lived: Maria's older sister, Agathe, died three years ago at age 97.