STEUBEN – Ethel May Schwalbe, 82, died of natural causes at her home Dec. 23, 2003. She was born May 31, 1921, in Kenosha, Wis., the daughter of Carl Frederic Schwalbe and Pauline Piehl. Her younger brother, Robert Charles Schwalbe, preceded her in death on March 15, 1991. She is survived by her nephew, Charles Arthur Schwalbe of Los Corrales, Cantabria, Spain; her cousin, Herbert Moericke of Wisconsin and second cousin, Shirley McCray of Tennessee. Ethel was also deeply cherished by her many friend’s, her neighbors and the family of her deceased sister-in-law, Avelina Schwalbe (Garcia-Lago), in Spain. Ethel was educated in Wisconsin, having attended high school in Kenosha and then the University of Wisconsin. She had over four decades of outstanding service in the U.S. Government in Washington, D.C. and overseas. Her professional career was primarily in the Human Resources and Organizational Development fields. She retired in the early 1980s from the Urban Renewal Program for the District of Columbia and moved directly to Down East Maine. Environmentally conscious and politically aware, she dedicated much of her time to community service and model citizenship. She was a very active member of the League of Women Voters both in Washington, D.C. and in Maine, where she held leadership positions. She served as honorary member of the Washington Hancock Community Agency Board of Directors, where upon her departure the Agency created the Ethel M. Schwalbe Award in her honor. Ethel had a deep and keen interest in classical music, theatre, opera and ballet, often traveling with considerable effort and distance to attend concerts and plays. Ethel was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ellsworth, where she was involved in many activities, including being an important member of the Woman’s Alliance, a fund-raising and social group. A Memorial Service for Ethel will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, 2004, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ellsworth, 121 Bucksport Road, Ellsworth, and presided over by the Rev. Mark Worth. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Washington Hancock Community Agency, P.O. Box 280, Milbridge, ME 04658.
ETHEL MAY SCHWALBE
