ANACORTES, WA — Longtime traffic safety activist, Nancy Mathews, lost her battle with cancer on March 9, 2013 after being diagnosed in December. Nancy died in her home in Anacortes and was surrounded by family.
Nancy was born January 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.
Nancy 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 of Washington.
When she 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.
Nancy’s 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’s honor can be made to the Kent Police Department Youth Board at the Kent Police Department, 220 4th Avenue South, Kent, WA 98032.
For more information on the Kent Police Department Youth Board, visit
http://www.ci.kent.wa.us/content.aspx?id=1350