BELFAST — The decision of a Belfast woman to include a local non-profit in her will has ended up serving as a powerful testament to who she was as a person during her lifetime. Mildred Clarke, who was 94 at the time of her passing, was faced with a challenge nearly a decade ago when she was forced to give up her license due to poor eyesight.

She turned to Waldo Community Action Partners' transportation program for help getting to and from medical appointments and the grocery store.

It didn't take long for Mildred to become a favorite among agency drivers. "[They] loved to have her because she was such a sweet lady. She was very kind and an easy person to carry on a conversation with on long rides," Heidi Russo, WCAP's transportation operations assistant said.

"It caused one to wonder about her after not hearing from her for awhile," Herman Dyer, a now retired agency driver said about Mildred. "She was the type of person that could not be forgotten."

Another agency driver, Herman Barr, agrees. "I drove Mildred a few times to Bangor for appointments. We would talk about where she came from, her family, her son. One snowy winter day, I was driving the shopper bus, and I was running behind because of the weather. When I got to her house, she gave me the dickens for being late. 'Where have you been?' she had said. It didn't take long for her to forgive me; she was a sweet little lady. She loved Maine and she loved people."

Mildred's love for people was made clear this summer when the son she had always spoken so fondly of stepped through the agency's doors. He brought with him a check for $500, a gift from his mother for the transportation department.

"We're so thankful Mildred thought of WCAP in her will," Russo shared.