Lois Galgay Reckitt

Lois Galgay Reckitt
Galgay Reckitt in 2017
Member of the Maine House of Representatives
In office
December 7, 2022 – October 30, 2023
Preceded byMichelle Dunphy
Succeeded byMatthew D. Beck
Constituency122nd district
In office
December 7, 2016 – December 7, 2022
Preceded byTerry Morrison
Succeeded byChad R. Perkins
Constituency31st district
Personal details
Born
Lois Galgay

(1944-12-31)December 31, 1944
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedOctober 30, 2023(2023-10-30) (aged 78)
South Portland, Maine, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Lyn Kjenstad Carter
​
(m. 2013)​
Children2
Education
AwardsMaine Women's Hall of Fame (1998)

Lois Galgay Reckitt (née Galgay; December 31, 1944 – October 30, 2023) was an American feminist and activist. Called "one of the most prominent advocates in Maine for abused women",[1] she served as executive director of Family Crisis Services in Portland, Maine, for more than three decades.

From 2016 until her death, she served in the Maine House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party.

From 1984 to 1987, she served as executive vice president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in Washington, D.C. She was the co-founder of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, the Maine Coalition for Human Rights, the Maine Women's Lobby, and the first Maine chapter of NOW. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 1998.

Early life and education[edit]

Lois Galgay was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on December 31, 1944,[2] to George Alphonsus Galgay and his wife, Marjorie Lois Wright Galgay.[3] Her parents were both polio survivors.[2] She was an only child.[2] She graduated from Watertown High School and went on to Brandeis University, where she earned her B.A. in biology in 1966.[4] At Brandeis, she played on the women's basketball team[5] and had her first taste of activism as a member of the Northern Student Movement.[2] She earned her M.A. in marine biology and biological oceanography at Boston University in 1968.[4] She later received certification as a notary public in the State of Maine.[4]

Career[edit]

Reckitt moved to Portland, Maine, after graduating from Boston University, being familiar with the state from summer vacations in her youth.[2] She took her first job as a part-time instructor of marine biology at Southern Maine Technical College.[2] From 1970 to 1979, she was the swimming director at the Portland YWCA.[2]

Reckitt helped establish the Family Crisis Shelter in Portland, Maine,[6] which was formalized as Family Crisis Services in 1977. In 2018, the organization was renamed Through These Doors.[7] She served as executive director of Family Crisis Services from 1979 to 1984.[4] In 1984, she moved to Washington, D.C., to an elected post as executive vice president of the National Organization for Women, a position she held until 1987.[2] From 1987 to 1989, she was deputy director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, a political action committee that she had co-founded in 1980.[2]

In 1990, she returned to Portland and resumed the executive directorship of Family Crisis Services.[2] By 2010, she was overseeing a budget of $1.4 million, with 30 staff members, three outreach offices, and a battered women's shelter.[2][8] She lobbied for legal reforms to protect victims of domestic abuse, leading to the passage of "anti-stalking legislation, a domestic violence homicide review panel, and gun control measures for abusers".[9][10] She often spoke at conferences and on panels in support of women's rights and LGBT rights.[11][12][13] She was frequently quoted in newspaper reports on domestic violence and murder,[1][14][15][16][17][18] and organized memorial gatherings for victims of domestic violence.[14] She retired from the executive directorship in October 2015.[4]

Reckitt was elected to the Maine House of Representatives as a Democrat from South Portland (District 31) in 2016 and served until she died in 2023.[19] She introduced the Equal Rights Amendment to the Maine House of Representatives in an attempt to have the state ratify it four times during her tenure.[19]

Other activities[edit]

In 1973, Reckitt co-founded the Maine chapter of the National Organization for Women; she also helped establish the Maine Right to Choose in 1975, the Maine Coalition for Human Rights in 1976, the Maine Women's Lobby, the Maine Coalition for Human Rights, and the Matlovich Society for gay rights and AIDS awareness.[6][20]

Memberships[edit]

Reckitt was a board member of the National Organization for Women (NOW) for 14 years[4] and served on several NOW committees, including the national committee to end violence against women and the committee on pornography (which she chaired from 1990 to 1992).[21] She served on the board of directors of the Maine Women's Lobby from 1979 to 1983,[22] on the board of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence from 2005 to 2014[4][23] (including two years as president),[2] and on the board of the Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence.[24] She was an advisory committee member of the LGBT Collection at the University of Southern Maine.[25] Her chairmanships include the Maine Coalition for Family Crisis Services and the Maine Commission on Domestic Abuse; she was vice-chair for the board of trustees at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.[6]

Personal life[edit]

Galgay Reckitt was married twice to men.[8][26] During her second marriage, she realized she was lesbian and came out in 1976 while in her early thirties.[8][27] She lived with her wife, Lyn Kjenstad Carter, in South Portland.[28] Galgay Reckitt had two children and five grandchildren.[29]

Galgay Reckitt died from colon cancer on October 30, 2023, in South Portland, at the age of 78.[19][30] After her death was announced, Governor Janet Mills and President of the State Senate Troy Jackson issued statements praising Galgay Reckitt.[19]

Awards and recognition[edit]

Reckitt received the Outstanding Contribution to Law Enforcement award from the Maine Chiefs of Police Association in 1996, the Advocate for Justice Award from the Maine Judicial Branch in 2001, the John W. Ballou Distinguished Service Award from the Maine State Bar Association in 2005, and the Deborah Morton Award from the University of New England in 2013.[4][9] She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 1998.[20]

Reckitt is listed in Feminists Who Changed America, 1963–1975[31] and was named "Feminist of the Month – 2010" by the Veteran Feminists of America.[2]

Selected articles[edit]

  • "We agree that some shouldn't have guns. Let's act on it for domestic violence victims' sake". Bangor Daily News. November 23, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  • "Maine Voices: Portland Defending Childhood ready to buffer trauma's impact". Portland Press Herald. October 28, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2016. (with Julie Alfred Sullivan)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Maxwell, Trevor (April 13, 2008). "An abuse case that counters the norm; Is Laureen Rugen her husband's murderer or his victim?". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016 – via HighBeam.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Feminist of the Month – May 2010: Lois Reckitt, Feminist organizer, NOW leader, advocate for abused women and children". Veteran Feminists of America. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  3. ^ "Marjorie Lois Wright Galgay". Portland Press Herald. October 11, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  4. ^ "Varsity Basketball: Girls have their day". The Justice. Brandeis University. February 25, 1964. p. 8.
  5. ^ a b c Hersey, Linda (September 25, 2008). "Q&A with Lois Reckitt – Three decades of work to end domestic violence". keepmecurrent.com. Retrieved March 11, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Through These Doors
  7. ^ a b c Byrne, Matt (July 4, 2015). "Lois Reckitt, freedom from fear". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  8. ^ a b "University of New England Celebrates Outstanding Maine Women of Achievement (press release)" (PDF). University of New England. September 3, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 30, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  9. ^ "Statement, Lois Galgay Reckitt, Member, on Behalf of Maine Commission on Domestic Abuse, S. 15", Violence against women: Victims of the system, U.S. G.P.O., 1992, p. 306, ISBN 9780160371769
  10. ^ "Appendices – Conference Participants". University of Maine. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  11. ^ "Pride Maine LGBT History: Life and Activism in the 1970s, a panel discussion and exhibit". Portland Public Library. 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  12. ^ "The Greatest LGBT Generation". Equality Maine. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  13. ^ a b Hench, David (June 5, 2009). "In memory of Zoe: More than 150 people attend vigil for the slain 18-year-old". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016 – via HighBeam.
  14. ^ "Man allowed to see girlfriend who stabbed him". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. November 24, 1999. p. B4.
  15. ^ Murphy, Grace (May 20, 2004). "Victim's kin on 'crusade' to change bail policy". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016 – via HighBeam.
  16. ^ Tessier, Marie (July 25, 2008). "Intimate Violence Remains a Big Killer of Women". Women's ENews. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  17. ^ Hench, David (March 15, 2014). "UMaine saw no red flags after player's 2012 arrest". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016 – via HighBeam.
  18. ^ a b c d "Lois Galgay Reckitt, women's rights activist and South Portland lawmaker, dies". Press Herald. October 31, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Women's Hall of Fame Induction Set in Augusta". Lewiston Sun Journal. March 21, 1998. p. C18.
  20. ^ Love, Barbara J. (September 22, 2006). Feminists Who Changed America, 1963–1975. University of Illinois Press. p. 377. ISBN 9780252097478. lois reckitt lesbian rights committee.
  21. ^ "South Portland legislator, champion of women's rights, dies". Bangor Daily News. October 31, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  22. ^ "NCADV Board of Directors" (PDF). The Voice: The Journal of the Battered Women's Movement. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 2. Spring 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  23. ^ "Board of Directors". Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  24. ^ "LGBT Collection Advisory Committee". University of Southern Maine. 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  25. ^ Gellis, Audrey (January 6, 1975). "Couples write own marriage contract". Pampa Daily News. p. 12 – via Newspaperarchive.com. Open access icon
  26. ^ Nemitz, Bill (June 20, 2014). "Gay-rights pioneers earned pride long before parade". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  27. ^ "Lowell George Kjenstad Sr". Bangor Daily News. March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  28. ^ Survivors include
  29. ^ "Lois Galgay Reckitt, women's rights activist and South Portland lawmaker, dies at 78". Press Herald. October 31, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  30. ^ Love, Barbara J., ed. (2006). Feminists Who Changed America, 1963–1975. University of Illinois Press. p. 377. ISBN 978-0252031892.

External links[edit]

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