In a small town where everyone seems to know everyone, there are those rare individuals whose spirit and service shape the very heart of a community. Patricia D. “Pat” Mills was one of them. Mills, 69, passed away April 13 at her home in Orrick, leaving behind not just a grieving family but an entire town that she nurtured, fed and inspired for decades. Though her chair sits empty at the Ray County Senior Center and her laughter no longer fills the Orrick Lions Club meetings, her legacy endures in the countless lives she touched. “Pat was a caring person to her core,” said Lions Club member and Eagleton Senior Center volunteer Bryan Couch. “She gave her time freely and didn’t expect anything in return. I don’t ever recall her saying no to anyone. She cared about our community’s most vulnerable, our senior citizens. That is why Pat was so special to our community.” Born Sept. 15, 1955, Mills spent her entire life in Orrick, graduating from Orrick High School in 1973. She married her…