Cheryl Ebbinghaus
Groton — Cheryl J. Ebbinghaus, 32, beloved daughter of Charlie and Jude Ebbinghaus of Groton, died Saturday, April 14, 2018, at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, after extended complications from Crohn’s disease and gastrointestinal disorders.
Cheryl was a 2003 graduate of Fitch Senior High School, an avid athlete in softball and basketball and served as drum major in the marching band. She graduated from Elms College in 2007, on a Presidential Scholarship, and appeared in “Who’s Who of American College Students,” as well as participating in mission work in Jamaica. Cheryl also graduated from New England Tech with a degree in respiratory therapy, although her illness delayed her chance to move forward in her chosen field.
In spite of a challenging diagnosis of ulcerative colitis at age 11, Cheryl became an advocate for youth facing varied intestinal and diversion conditions. She represented Connecticut as the Children’s Miracle Network Champion in 2002, and joined forces with the other 49 champions from other states to participate in the CMN Telethon to raise funds for pediatric health care and research. She was active in the United Ostomy Associations of America, as co-founder and vice president of the UOA Teen Network, vice president of the New London County Ostomy Association and co-director of the Young Ostomate & Diversion Alliance of America. She attended the Youth Rally, a camp for youth living with conditions of the bowel and bladder that encourages self-confidence and independent living, as a camper and counselor, and mentored young people facing similar challenges to her own. She was also a winner of the Great Comebacks Scholarship award, in recognition of her service and dedication to promoting independent living while facing chronic illness.
Through years of surgeries, procedures and medications, Cheryl maintained a fighting spirit, always seeking the positives of any situation, and was a strong patient advocate for herself and others. She challenged her doctors with her extensive knowledge of her own case, and was a collaborator in her own care, making the hardest decisions that would give her the best chance at the quality of life she wanted. Over the past 18 months, she spent more than 200 days at L+M Hospital and at Yale New Haven Hospital, where she had recently been accepted to a clinical trial for GI disorders.
Cheryl was a fiercely loyal friend and family member, and tenacious in pursuit of health and happiness. Her laugh was contagious and her smile lit up rooms. A lifelong Yankees fan, she loved baseball and knew the game in ways general managers wished their players did. She also loved UConn women’s basketball, and met her favorite players at the UConn Dance Marathon.
She was engaged to Adam Rowland, who lost his battle to metastatic melanoma in 2010. She is survived by her loving parents, Jude and Charlie, and her sister Alycia, brotherin-law Will, nephew Ronan, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and many friends. She is predeceased by her grandparents Tom and Betty Ebbinghaus, Alice Donohue, Frank and June Donohue, and her uncle Larry Yering.
The family gives its sincere thanks to the medical staff at Lawrence + Memorial and Yale New Haven hospitals, and to the first responders of the City of Groton.
Visitation hours will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. today at the Byles Groton Memorial Home, 310 Thames St., Groton. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 19, at St. Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, 69 Groton Long Point Road, Groton. Interment will follow at the Colonel Ledyard Cemetery in Groton.
Please visit www.byles.com to sign the online register or to share a memory.
Donations in Cheryl’s memory may be made to Youth Rally Committee Inc., C/O Mary Beth Akers, 949 Chestnut Oak Dr., St. Charles, MO 63303, www.youthrally.org/donate; or Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Foundation, 282 Washington St., Hartford, CT 06106, www.connecticutchildrensfoundation.org.