Many of us grew up watching the character of Birdie Googins tell us in her charming way why "We should have bought it when we saw it at Marden's!"

"Accidentally Maine's Only Supermodel," as she would often proclaim, the woman who brought this character to life, actress/comedienne/writer Karmo Sanders (aka Martha Lello), has passed away at the age of 74.

According to her obituary, she died peacefully this past Saturday at her home in Scarborough.

Originally from Norway, Maine, Sanders (as she went by later in life) spent most of her life, from a very young age, on stage.

She majored in Drama at Phillips University in Oklahoma, where she met Jerry Sanders, the man who would eventually become her husband. She received her Masters in Creative Writing from Boston University and even taught at the collegiate level, as an adjunct professor of playwriting and acting for non-majors at the University of Southern Maine.

She spoke with NewsCenter Maine about her career, her family, her life with Sanders and about having to rebuild and find her funny again after he passed.

But it wasn't until Sanders stepped into the role of Birdie Googins, the quirky, excitably optimistic bargain lover known to Maine as "The Marden's Lady" that Sanders became a face that countless folks across the state would come to recognize. A little over a decade ago, she spoke with the Portland Press Herald about just how huge that character became.

While Sanders would go on to become published playwright and author, it was her embodiment of everyone's favorite Marden's shopper that won her the hearts of the Pine Tree state.

There's no doubt her passing will be felt by her family and friends, including her siblings, kids, grandkids and nieces and nephews.

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Sanders will be remembered at the Hobbs Funeral Home next week. Visiting hours for the public will run from noon to 4 Sunday November 2, 2025. The address is 230 Cottage Rd. in South Portland.

She was fun, funny and totally relatable in a ridiculous way. Rest in Peace, Karmo "Birdie" Sanders. Maine and Marden's won't be the same without you.