That's exactly what happened. She had been employed for 21 years and accrued that much PTO over that period.
http://blog.sfgate.com/matierandross/2013/07/24/barts-golden...
http://blog.sfgate.com/matierandross/2013/07/24/barts-golden...
But now you know exactly why people save up vacation like this: To get a larger payout at the end of the career.
Personally I think unused vacation days should be savable for 2 years, and then are automatically paid at the current salary rate.
I think it makes sense to pay out for vacation days one could have taken but didn't when they quit or get laid off. I'm not sure it makes sense to pay for vacation not taken in previous years, but maybe.
(I'm actually in favor of a 1~2 year cap, but I'm betting she left money on the table by not getting it paid out)