State Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, a longtime member of the Maine Legislature and a close friend of the late Nancy Randall Clark, read a sentiment in her honor on the morning of Jan. 12, at the State House.

Clark, the first woman to serve as Senate majority leader, died on Dec. 28 at her Freeport home at the age of 77. A celebration of Clark’s life will be held on Jan. 30 at the South Freeport Congregational Church.

Gerzofsky said that Clark was his mentor when she was in the Senate and he was a Senate staffer.

“I learned from her how to listen and to work with others,” he said. “I learned a lot from watching her. She was a great teacher.”

Later, when Gerzofsky entered the Legislature and Clark had retired, the two developed a special way of greeting each other.

“I used to call her my senator sister and she used to call me her senator brother,” Gerzofsky said. “She was a great resource for me before and after I got elected. I could talk to her on weighty issues. I looked for her guidance.”

Loyal to her town, Clark made sure Gerzofsky was up on Freeport issues, even though he wasn’t representing the town at the time, he said.

Clark was a force in Freeport, serving the community in many ways. She was a was past president of the Freeport Woman’s Club, master of the Harraseeket Grange, a former board member of Freeport Community Services, a member of the Freeport Elders Association and a dedicated member of the South Freeport Congregational Church. She taught at Freeport High School.

Gerzofsky said he visited Clark during her final days, and she wanted to know how things were going in the State House. He made sure people knew plenty about her when he spoke on Jan. 12.

“I’m not known for speaking long in session, but I made an exception this time,” he said.

Gerzofsky read the joint resolution as follows:

“The Honorable Nancy Randall Clark, of Freeport, the first woman to serve as Maine’s Senate Majority Leader. Ms. Clark was a highly regarded member of the greater Freeport community and a leader in Maine politics. She was born in Portland and attended Freeport schools. Ms. Clark received her teaching and business degrees from the University of Maine and Husson College and a master’s degree from Bryant College. She was a teacher for 40 years, first in Scarborough and then in the Freeport school system. She was an involved member of the Maine Teachers Association, where she served as president. Ms. Clark was elected to the Legislature in 1973 and served for 20 years, with three terms in the House of Representatives and seven terms in the Senate. She served one term as Assistant Senate Majority Leader and three terms as Senate Majority Leader. She was a member of Harraseeket Grange No. 9 for more than four decades, having served on the Executive Committee of the Maine State Grange, and she was a longtime member of the Order of the Eastern Star. Ms. Clark was involved in many professional, community and service organizations, was a member of the Cumberland County Retired Educators Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals for 37 years and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution for 39 years. She was a lifelong member of the South Freeport Congregational Church. Ms. Clark will be greatly missed and long remembered by her family, her friends and those whose lives she touched.”