Elizabeth (Beth) Melanson of New Paltz passed away on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie at the age of 49. Beth was born on June 11, 1969 at New Rochelle Hospital. She was the youngest child of Margaret and Roy Larson of Gardiner, N.Y. In addition to her parents, she is survived by her sisters, Dr. Cecilia Larson of Massachusetts and Mary Strothenke of New Paltz and her brother Roy Larson Jr. of Florida. Beth was married to Thomas Melanson of Jacksonville, Florida in 1997. Together they had three children, Patrick, Maggie, and Jacqueline who now live in Stone Ridge, N.Y. Beth also leaves behind nieces, nephews and in-laws.
Beth was an accomplished flutist at MacArthur High School in Levittown, NY, and at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. She entered Emory Law School, Atlanta, Georgia in 1993. At the end of her first year at law school, Beth was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. After successfully being treated for this disease, she returned to law school and graduated in May 1997.
Beth served as an Assistant District Attorney, Chief Assistant District Attorney and District Attorney in Dallas, Georgia where she focused her attention on protecting children and abused spouses. She was a member of both the Georgia and New York Bar Associations.
She and her family decided to return to the Hudson Valley and they settled down in New Paltz in 2005. She then became an associate in the law firm of Feldman, Kleidman and Coffey in Fishkill, N.Y. where she worked until she suffered a heart attack on November 15, 2009 which left her with profound impairments. She had spent the last nine years in local nursing homes until her demise on October 5, 2018.
Beth accomplished many things in her life, but her proudest moments were being a mother to Patrick, Maggie & Jackie.
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