WELLS – Alberta Wentworth, who had the distinction of being Maine’s most senior state representative while serving in the 1980s, has died at age 97.

Wentworth died Saturday after a brief illness. A New Hampshire native, she attended Harvard University and moved to Wells in the 1940s, where she ran a grocery store with her husband.

Wentworth, also had a long career as Wells town clerk and also served on the board of selectmen, was known in the state capital as a relentless worker.