ORLANDO, Fla. -- Harriett Lake, the 96-year-old woman who was a patron of dozens of Central Florida causes over the years, especially in the arts, has passed away.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer confirmed on Twitter that Lake had passed away.

"With great style and flair, Harriett supported so many worthy causes," Dyer said. "She left a lasting legacy and helped make our community a more vibrant place to live."

Lake was born in Pennsylvania in 1922 as the eldest of seven children. She served in the Marines during World War II. 

"Oh yeah, I fell in love with the trench coat," Lake joked in a Spectrum News 13 interview in 2014. "That was the only way to get it."

Lake's love of fashion, which she called a disease, made her a style icon in Orlando. She used that fashion to do good in the community. She would sometimes sell or donate her designer pieces to charity. 

Of course, that wasn't the only way she helped.

Lake married her husband Hymen in Miami and the two eventually moved to Orlando. Her husband was in the real estate. Among his big deals -- the $1 million sale of a piece of land she once called a swamp to Martin Marietta. It's now part of the Lockheed Martin site.

She also used the money to help over 150 charities and groups in Orlando each year -- giving away $1.5 million a year.

She once sold items from her vast closet and raised over $40,000 for Orlando Regional Medical Center's trauma center. During another sale, she raised money for the Foundation for Foster Children. 

She continued to do so through her Harriett's Closet charitable trust.

She was a patron of the Orlando Ballet, the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center, Mad Cow Theater, Boys and Girls Clubs, the League of Women Voters. 

Her great philanthropic works have allowed her name to be graced on facilities at Seminole State College, The Jewish Community Center in Maitland, the University of Central Florida and more. Orlando Ballet's new headquarters in Loch Haven Park will be known as Harriett's Orlando Ballet Centre. 

Cancer patients can get stylish hats and scarves for free at University of Florida Health Cancer Center in Orlando because of Lake.

Lake was even known for was simply walking into a Walmart and paying for everyone's Christmas layaway.

"Listen, when you're 80 years old and you're picking out your coffin and you know you're not going to take anything with you, you begin to see people out there," Harriett told Spectrum News 13 in 2014.