Lois Galgay Reckitt, a Maine lawmaker who was a relentless activist for women, has died

Lois Galgay Reckitt, a Maine lawmaker renowned as a relentless activist for women, has died. She was 78.

Reckitt died Oct. 30, according to an obituary in the Portland Press Herald. A celebration of her life takes place Sunday at the Maine Irish Heritage Center in Portland.

Reckitt served as the longtime director of Family Crisis Services in Portland and an advocate for women suffering from domestic abuse. She was a board member with the National Organization for Women, and a founder of the Human Rights Campaign Fund. She helped to found the Maine Women’s Lobby and was inducted into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame in 1998.

For decades she advocated for the Equal Rights Amendment, first at the national level, seeking to amend the U.S. Constitution, and later at the state level, seeking to amend the Maine Constitution. In her latest attempt as a member of the Maine House of Representatives, she broadened the scope of her proposal to ban discrimination against a series of groups, not just women, in the hopes of bringing more support and protecting more people by aligning language with the Maine Human Rights Act but came up short in her final effort before leaving the Maine Legislature in June.

Maine House Democrats called her a trailblazer, a pioneer, a fighter, an icon and an inspiration in a statement on social media and said they must continue the work for which Reckitt fought so tirelessly.

“She was fiercely dedicated to justice. She was resiliently committed to creating a more equitable future for women. And she was never afraid to be a voice on behalf of those who could not stand up and have a voice themselves,” they said in the post. “Her advocacy and leadership have made Maine a better place for all who live here.”