ELIZABETH KELLY EBITZ, ESQ.

BANGOR – Elizabeth Kelly Ebitz, 54, a prominent Bangor lawyer, died at her home in Bangor on Oct. 2, 2004, from ALS (amyotropic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease). She was born June 9, 1950, in LaPorte, Ind., the third of six children of Joseph Monahan Kelly, Esq., and Ann (Barrett) Kelly. She moved several times while growing up because her father was a judge advocate in the U.S. Army. She first demonstrated her prodigious work ethic at the army base on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., when she opened a cold drink stand, at age seven, a successful business which she ran nearly continuously for the next six years. Upon her father’s military retirement her family settled in Deerfield, Mass. Elizabeth graduated in 1968 from St. Michael’s High School in Northhampton, Mass. where she competed nationally in debating and in extemporaneous speaking. She attended Smith College in Northhampton, Mass., graduating with honors from Smith in 1972. While in college she married David McKinnon Ebitz, from whom she was divorced in 1981, but with whom she enjoyed a friendly relationship in recent years. Elizabeth worked her way through Boston University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 1975. She loved the practice of law and relished every single day of her life that she practiced it. She first practiced law in Boston and then in Northhampton, Mass. from 1976 to 1979, as a partner in Ebitz & Zurn. She and her husband then moved to Bangor, where, after a short stint in a local firm, she established her own successful law practice, Elizabeth Kelly Ebitz, PA, in downtown Bangor. In 1988, Judith W. Thornton, Esq. joined the practice, and in 1993, the name of the firm was changed to Ebitz & Thornton, PA, as it remains today. In 2000, the firm moved from downtown Bangor to 329 Wilson St. in Brewer. In her early law practice, Elizabeth concentrated her talent and energy on domestic law and domestic abuse, as well as on personal injury law. She was known for her vigorous representation of her clients’ interests. She obtained liberal visitation rights and custody of children for fathers at a time when that was quite uncommon. During this period, Elizabeth also was president of the Greater Bangor Rape Crisis board, a member of the board of directors of the Maine Women’s Lobby, and a board member of Northern Maine Bread for the World. She was a member of the board of directors, secretary, and legal counsel for the Greater Bangor Area Shelter for the Homeless, and instrumental in the Catholic Diocese’s donation of its building to the shelter. She was a member of the board of directors and secretary of the Machias River Clinic for Mental Health and Substance Abuse. She was also a member of the board of directors of the American Heart Association in Maine and was proud to be its Maine Chair from 1993-1995. She was active in Maine’s Democratic Party and was always an active communicant in the local Catholic churches. In recent years Elizabeth concentrated her law practice in disability law, representing a large number of disabled people from northern and eastern Maine. She was exceptionally committed to her disabled clients, representing them with energy, passion, and compassion. In the fall of 2002, Elizabeth suffered the first symptoms of what was subsequently diagnosed as ALS, but she continued to practice law with her usual dedication until the fall of 2003, when she could no longer speak or walk. During the course of her entire illness she maintained clarity of intellect and spirit. Elizabeth will be especially missed by her clients and her loving friends whom she equally loved. She was an outspoken and humorous conversationalist. She was an avid reader and frequent international traveler. Over the years she exuberantly tackled a panoply of interests ranging from coin collecting, home renovation and photography to snorkeling, fishing, kayaking, rafting and hiking the carriage paths in Acadia National Park. She referred to herself as “a character,” and indeed she was a beloved one to those who knew her. Elizabeth is survived by her mother, Ann Kelly of Deerfield, Mass.; and four siblings, John Kelly of Penn Valley, Pa., and his wife and children, Patricia Kelly of Deerfield, Mass., Richard Kelly of Chatham, N.J., and his wife and children, and Kevin Kelly of Concord, Mass., and his wife and children. She was predeceased in 1977, by her father Joseph Monahan Kelly; and predeceased in 2000, by her oldest brother Joseph Monahan Kelly II, who died of ALS at age 53. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, by the Very Rev. Richard McLaughlin, Pastor Celebrant, at St. John’s Catholic Church, 207 York St., Bangor. There will be no visiting hours prior to the funeral but friends are invited to a lunch reception downstairs in the church immediately following the funeral. Private interment service will occur on a later date at Mount Pleasant Catholic Cemetery in Bangor. Heartfelt thanks are given by her friend and law partner Judith to all who participated in Elizabeth’s care and made it possible for her to remain at home during her battle with ALS. Special thanks for the loving and tender care from every single person at New Hope Hospice, for the hard work of the dedicated home health aides provided by New England Home Health, and for the vital services of Elizabeth’s private caregivers. Special thanks also to all the numerous friends, volunteers, and family members who generously gave hours and days of their time. Donations in her memory may be made to the Building Fund, New Hope Hospice, PO Box 75, Holden, ME 04429-0757, to the ALS Association, PO Box 1567, Bangor, ME 04401, or to the ALS Research Project at Mass General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, care of Robert H. Brown, M.D., Day Laboratory for Neuromuscular Research, Building 114, 16th St., Room 3125, Charlestown, MA 02129.