Nancy Mathews, 70, a longtime traffic safety activist who worked many years with the Kent Police Department, died after being diagnosed with cancer in December.

She died March 9 in her home in Anacortes and was surrounded by family, according to a March 23 media release from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

Mathews was born Jan. 6, 1943. She lived in Anacortes until attending the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. She moved to Renton and worked in city government as a councilwoman and was the driving force behind the expansion of Coulon Park.

She later worked at the Kent Police Department and was instrumental in the establishment of traffic safety task forces in Washington State and their success. In 1983, Nancy was appointed as coordinator of the Kent Drinking/Driver Task Force, which was one of the first traffic safety task forces in the state.

When Mathews retired in 2006, she received a Superstars of Traffic Safety for lifetime achievement award, as the Kent Drinking Driver Task Force had been in existence for 23 years and the city had no alcohol-involved teen fatalities in 10 years. Her involvement in traffic safety enabled the continued existence of the Target Zero Task Forces and saved many lives.

At the family’s request, contributions in Nancy Mathews’ honor can be made to the Kent Police Department Youth Board at the Kent Police Department, 220 Fourth Ave. S., Kent, WA 98032.

For more information about the Kent Police Department Youth Board, visit www.ci.kent.wa.us/content.aspx?id=1350.