After two decades of meting out justice to the residents of New Berlin, a local judge is ready to turn in her robes.
Mary Ann Ellis was born and raised in New York City. “Most of my childhood was spent in Brooklyn,” she said. She also explained not many people know she is an identical twin.
Following high school, Ellis said she immediately headed into the work force, where she found a job in a large insurance firm. Being a secretary paid off, Ellis explained, as the phone turned out to be the connection between her and the man she would marry.
“Allan called and we talked a little, then he called again and we became pen pals of sorts,” Ellis said. Before long, Ellis said, she found herself traveling across the country to California to meet him. Mary Ann then moved to California, and she and Allan spent four years in the Santa Monica area.
“We decided to move back east. I missed my family, and he was raised in the New York area too,” said Ellis. “We moved back and ended up getting a house three blocks from where I grew up, where my parents were,” she said.
After living the “big city” life, Mary Ann said, she and Allan decided to get a summer home in upstate New York. Mary Ann said the summer home turned into their permanent home as they arrived in New Berlin without jobs in 1975. “Allan found work in the insurance business but it took me a little longer,” said Ellis. During this time, the couple had their third child.
Ellis started working for the New Berlin Art Forum part-time, and in time, she and Allan opened the Town Edge restaurant in New Berlin. Ellis said she worked in the restaurant and for the Art Forum for roughly five years before changing positions.
She got involved in the Village of New Berlin community development program, which today is known as the New Berlin Housing and Preservation Company. Throughout the 1980s, she helped in grant writing and other efforts to help individuals find affordable housing.
During the years working for the community program, Ellis said the Village of New Berlin justice resigned, and she was asked to fill in as the interim judge. “I really didn’t know a lot about the position, but I said sure, why not?” said Ellis. She explained she had served on committees and boards before which helped prepare her for the position.
Ellis served the rest of the previous judge’s appointment, until 1988 when she was elected into the position. Now, in her 22nd year, Ellis said, it is time to let someone else take over.
“The position has had more impact on my life than I thought it would,” she said. “This has been an awesome responsibility, one I have made part of my life.”
Throughout her years as Village Judge, Ellis helped act as judge in Oxford for approximately six months and after the Town of New Berlin Justice Ross Iannello resigned to run for town supervisor, she was both the village and the town judge for four years. In this capacity, Ellis would see anything from traffic tickets to criminal acts and everything in between.
“It is a lot of work,” she said. “When I started there were no computers and no court clerks. I did everything myself, everything was manual.”
After the community program changed hands, Ellis says her ambitions regarding her day job changed. In 1991 Ellis answered an ad for Norwich ARC and now 17 years later is the vice president of administration. Also in 1991, Ellis explained she was on the 20/20 Vision committee, as part of a team reviewing the prospect of building a correctional facility, an idea Ellis said she backed fully. When asked if it was a good decision, “I said yes, of course,” she said.
As her tenure as village justice comes to a close within the next two months, Ellis said it has been educational for her and she has found it rewarding. “Now I want to travel, see my family and the rest of the world,” she said. Mary Ann explained she and Allan could not travel for many years, and now in their 38th year of marriage, they like the fact they can get away.
Editor’s Note: “Chenango Stories” puts the spotlight on those people whose compelling stories you might not otherwise hear. If you know someone who is interested in telling their “Chenango Story,” contact Jill Kraft at 337-3075 or e-mail: jkraft@evesun.com.