I would make an account for her, IF she does not have an email to use, I would just create one for that purpose, using the free email of choice (gmail in my case). I would do ALL the heavy lifting, setting up the email, the AppleID, verifying it, and then be able to hand her it working. I would also write down the AppleID and password for her. I would also probably NOT setup a 4 or 6 digit passcode, BUT if I did I would use 4 and make it simple for her.
I have a 75 year old mother so I completely understand.
