CLINTON - Ethel Mae Whitney, 63, of 18 Woodruff Road, died Thursday, Sept, 18, at the Rose Monahan Hospice Home in Worcester after a courageous battle with cancer.

She was born May 2, 1945, in Leominster, daughter of Leland A. and Mildred F. (Mahan) Whitney, and lived in Leominster and Clinton all of her life. She attended Leominster High School, Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner and received her bachelor's degree from University of Massachusetts Amherst. She had worked at Digital Corporation for many years as a technical writer and in more recent years she ran her own courier service.

She was a member of St. Leo's Parish in Leominster, and a longtime member of the Templeton Fish and Game Club. A caring and compassionate person, she was particularly fond of her extended family and cousins. She hosted numerous family events, including Fourth of July gatherings at her summer place in Templeton, over the years, up to and including this recent summer. She will be remembered lovingly by her cousins, whose numbers now include three generations, for her selfless efforts toward their families, which she considered her own immediate family. She also maintained several close friendships, a woman of many talents; she planned and did a large part of the building of her summer place.

She leaves her close cousin and caregiver Ron Rogers of Leominster; cousins Kevin Rogers, David Rogers, Michelle White and Julie, all of Leominster; Mary Moreau of Laconia, N.H., Pearl Fournier of Harwich, and Norma Stankaitis of Brewster; she also leaves close friends, and her longtime friend, Olmond Poutry of Clinton. She was predeceased by her father, Leland A. Whitney, in 1965, a brother, Donald L. Whitney, in 1987, and her mother, Mildred F. Whitney, in 1994.

Arrangements were under the direction of Wright-Roy Funeral Home in Leominster.