BELFAST — Mildred "Mickie" Morton Whitney, 80, passed away Jan. 16, 2013, at Tall Pines Rehabilitation and Living Center in Belfast. Born in Pelzer, S.C., Sept. 17, 1932, she was the daughter of Christopher C. and Mary Jane "Mollie" (Tinsley) Morton.

She attended the University of Maine at Orono.

On March 5, 1969, she married Stephen T. Whitney in Norwich, Vt. They met when he was a client on the answering service she ran in Concord, N.H. He asked her for a date over the phone and she said no, she did not date her clients. He showed up anyway and the love story started the minute she opened the door.

In October 1977, she moved from Peterborough, N.H., to Belfast with her family. She lived in Peterborough for several years after selling the first answering service that she ran in Concord, N.H., for many years. Prior to living in New England, she worked for Capitol Airlines and lived in Atlanta, Ga., and Baltimore, Md.

She was a communicant of All Saint's Episcopal Church in Peterborough, N.H., and St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Belfast.

Mickie was a caring wife, mother and sister. Her many nieces and nephews down south remember her as the glamorous aunt who traveled for a living and came home with stories of life in the big city. One of her favorite memories was seeing Clark Gable in Atlanta, Ga., when she worked for the airline. During her time in Peterborough, she and Stephen developed close friendships with Robert and Mary Cormack and Gordon and Margaret Hale. The three couples always created an environment of laughter and affection wherever they went, whether it was next door for a party or on the road to the many Dartmouth/Harvard football games they attended together. When the family moved to Belfast, Herbert and Elizabeth McClure became close friends as well.

Mickie always believed that putting your best foot forward was important and anyone who met her knew it. She always looked her best and was capable of handling any task she was presented with. This was apparent with the way she ran Belfast Area Answering Service. The people who hired her knew they were in very capable hands.

She took pride in her daughter and grandson and loved them with all her heart. Her family was always important to her and because she lived in the north, Mickie kept in close touch with her sister, Addie Lee, in South Carolina over the years, staying up to date with her southern roots.

Surviving is her husband, Stephen T. Whitney; and her daughter, Lisa T. Whitney, both of Belfast; her son, Jonathon Whitney and his wife, Mardi Freeman, of Brownfield; her grandchildren, William C.M. Whitney of Belfast, Mariah P. Whitney of San Francisco, Calif., Benjamin P. Whitney of Incline Village, Nev., and Michael Whitney of Willits, Calif.; her sisters, Christine Morton Harris of Cleveland, S.C., and Addie Lee Morton Lollis and her husband, Alvin, of Piedmont, S.C.; her twin brother, Milford Morton and his wife, Juanita, of Pelzer, S.C.; a brother-in-law, Herbert Vinnecombe of Wolfboro, N.H.; and many nieces and nephews.

Mickie was predeceased by her parents; her son, Christopher Whitney; her brothers, John Allen Martin and his wife, Margaret, and Clyde Morton and his wife, Pauline, all of Piedmont, S.C., and Robert Morton and his wife, Cora, of Pelzer, S.C.; her brother-in-law, James Harris of Pickens, S.C.; her sisters-in-law, Anne Whitney Vinnecombe of Wolfboro, N.H., and Barbara Whitney Dowds and her husband, Murdo, of Weymouth, Mass.; her nephews, David Morton of York, S.C., and Robert L Morton of Pelzer, S.C.; and a niece, Patricia Harris of Piedmont, S.C.

Her special friends Paul, Brenda and Tina Flagg of Belfast, Elizabeth Knox of Searsport, Billie-Jo Knox of Waldo and Melissa Stacey Hodgdon of Brooks will remember Mickie with great love.

A memorial service will be held held at a later date at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Belfast and will be announced. Interment will be private and held at the convenience of the family.

Memorial donations may be made in Mickie's memory to The Game Loft, 78 A. Main Street, Belfast, ME 04915.

Condolences and memories may be shared with the Whitney family by visiting their book of memories at www.longfuneralhomecamden.com.

Arrangements are with Long Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Camden.