WARREN — Barbara Irene Ezell died Nov. 5, 2015. at the Sussman House in Rockport. after a nearly one-year-long battle with cancer.

She was born Jan. 13, 1948, in Northville, Mich., to Vera and Harold Pankow. Vera passed away the day after Barbara was born, and Barbara was raised for two years by her beloved Aunt Mary and Uncle Arlo Hauger. After Barbara's father remarried, Barbara returned to her family and was reunited with her brother, Richard, father and stepmother.

After graduating high school in Plymouth, Mich., in 1966, Barb traveled to England to study horsemanship. She spent two and a half outstanding years in England, making lifelong friends and getting started with what would be her passion - horses. Returning to the U.S., Barb married Ted Ezell in 1974 in Michigan. Taking a summer job as a horseback riding instructor at Alford Lake Camp in Hope led Barb and Ted to make the move to Maine with all of their belongings packed in a small pickup truck.

Barb and Ted fell in love with Maine, eventually buying a home in Warren and starting a small farm. Their much anticipated daughter, Marybeth Irene Ezell, was born in 1979.

Barb combined her love of horses and children by teaching riding lessons, leading a 4-H group and co-founding Freedom Riders, a long running nonprofit dedicated to providing therapeutic horseback riding lessons to those with disabilities in the Midcoast Maine area. After Marybeth started school, Barb was hired by the Rockland School system and continued her work with special needs children until her retirement in 2015 due to illness. Barb's other interests included gardening, reading, following local sports and spending time with her friends and family. She had a special love for animals, especially the dogs that were a huge part of her life. In 2011, Barb and Ted welcomed a very long awaited grandchild, Eliot, who provided them with great joy.

Barbara was predeceased by her husband, Ted, in 2011. She is survived by her grandson, Eliot Jensen; her daughter Marybeth Jensen; and her son-in-law, Christopher Jensen; her brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Sunja Pankow; her brothers-in-law and their spouses, Ron and Peggy Ezell, and Jerry and Darlene Cox; as well as many nieces, nephews and other extended family members throughout the country.

Then there are the many friends, neighbors and co-workers that have helped Barbara from the moment she learned she was ill: Susan Cook, Bill and Barb Nadeau, Cindy and Gary Salo and family, and Dee and John Thibadeau. Special appreciation is given to Melanie Langmeyer, who cared for Barb's horses once she could not, and to Helen DiGiovanni who gave them homes. So many others helped Barb along her journey and they are all treasured as well.

A memorial service and celebration of Barbara's life will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m. with a reception following at Burpee, Carpenter and Hutchins, 110 Limerock St. in Rockland.

Donations in Barbara's memory can be made to either Pope Memorial Humane Society, P.O. Box 1294, Rockland, ME 04841, or The Good Shepherd Food Bank, 3121 Hotel Road, Auburn, ME 04210.