Arizona's first female secretary of state and governor has passed away at the age of 94. The scrappy softball player from Globe died at Gardiner Home, a Phoenix hospice after being in hospice care since being injured in a fall last month.

Karen Scates, a close friend and longtime political associate said that, Mofford, who lived in the same central Phoenix home for 55 years was moved to the hospice after an August 31 fall at home.

Mofford, a Democrat, was a trailblazer for women in politics here in Arizona. Scates said that, “She was in good spirits yesterday. She went peacefully that is all we can hope for.”

President Barack Obama praised Mofford and said in a statement that, "In all, her career in public service spanned more than a half-century.

It’s a story of tireless service, steady leadership, and a trailblazing spirit that inspired not only a state where three more women would eventually follow her in office, but an entire country. Rose showed us all what to do when somebody says we’re not good enough because of who we are don’t believe it."

Athia Hardt, who served as Mofford's press aide when she was suddenly catapulted to the Governor's Office following Mecham's impeachment, recalled that, "When the state desperately needed healing, she stepped in."

"As recently as a few months ago, she was still calling on my cellphone every so often when she saw something in the newspaper she didn't like or about something political," Hardt said.

Mofford started in state government as a secretary, beginning right out of high school. “Let your word be your bond,” Mofford said. “If you say you are going to do something, do it, and don’t make excuses.”

“Be a good listener. Learn to listen and to listen to people’s suggestions. Learn from the people around you.” “And treat everyone with dignity.”

The AZCentral reported, Mofford said in a 2010 interview, that, “I attribute my success in life to my roots, religion and my Rolodex. I have the best Rolodex in Arizona.”

“People are dying, and I'm getting older, and things are changing,” she said in 2011. “Honey, you would be surprised by how many friends I've lost.”

“Arizona may have its unparalleled sunsets, magnificent canyons and heart-stopping mountains, but it's the people who bring the state alive.”

Mofford said in an interview in 2011, that, “It was a wonderful place to grow up. It was about population 12,000, and you knew everybody, and the teachers, the principal and everybody knew you, so if you got in trouble, your parents knew it before you got home.”

“You never locked your car. You never locked your house. People were always welcome. Christmas was always big. And if someone died, people would make cakes or fried chicken, and you would be there for them.”

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Nandini