MILLINOCKET, MAINE -- On January 4, 2012, Alyce Maragus, died after a long struggle with breast cancer. It had become metastatic cancer in her lungs and her liver.

Alyce was a fighter and, she was entirely incapable of ignoring things she felt were wrong, unfair, or corrupt. It made her some enemies, it's true; but it made her friends as well, and I am proud to have been among those who were her friend.

If you knew Alyce, you did not forget her. It was a joke among her friends that she would have been the perfect subject for the old Reader's Digest feature "My Most Unforgettable Character."

Alyce wrote for the Magic City Morning Star from its inception and was never at a loss for words. She was involved in many of the local battles, many of which she wrote here, including the fight over MAGIC, the lawsuit against the town after former Councilor Matt Polstein violated the whistleblower laws by firing Mary Walsh, the fight to keep MAGIC from pushing local radio station WSYY out of the market, and school budget issues. She was on the winning side of most of those battles.

Her columns always generated much discussion and prompted many people to action, whether it was action to rise to her call or action to get her censured or worse.

Alyce is gone now, and finally not suffering from the intense pain she felt at the end of her life.

I will miss her forever, and she will remain my most unforgettable character.

© Copyright 2002-2012 by Magic City Morning Star

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