CAMDEN — On Monday, April 15, 2019, Elazar Allwine, of Camden, passed away tragically at the young age of 23 from an extraordinarily rare and aggressive liver cancer diagnosed on February 21, 2019; he was surrounded by his family.

Elazar was born at home in Rockland, on July 7, 1995 to Jen Iott and Marty Allwine. His sister, Kaia, his best friend, was born in 1997. He attended the Ashwood Waldorf School, Camden Rockport Elementary and Middle schools and graduated from Camden Hills Regional High School in June 2013 in the top 10 percent of his class. He received a generous scholarship to attend New York University, which he attended for four years studying design and marketing.

While in New York, Elazar did art direction and production work. He also did some work with the Fall 2017 Area F/W Fashion Show. He had a passion for clothing design and branding. He returned to Camden in 2017, where he lived until his death. 

From very early on, Elazar was a living contradiction with the peculiar and endearing quality of being simultaneously incredibly brave and exceptionally sensitive and even fearful.

At times he was loud, obnoxious and given to rants. He was also a sweet and insightful son, who always let people know how important they were to him.

He had such a gift for making people laugh. His sense of humor was quick and sharp. He had the unique ability to memorize lines of movies and skits and use them at the most appropriate times.

For such a young man, he had an unusually wide assortment of friends of all ages. And with everyone, Elazar took no one and nothing for granted. There was no cliché, assumption, or expectation he did not question or thoroughly examine.

Elazar was a philosopher and deep thinker and enjoyed discussing and debating all matters of life. He had a profoundly analytical mind which extended well beyond his 23 years.  

Elazar was a passionate, creative talent who loved art, fashion and food. He was particular about the tiniest of details, a quality that helped fuel his design talent and was evident in the way he dressed each day and prepared for even the most mundane of tasks.

He was also unusually handsome and he knew it. Fortunately, his sense of humor extended even to his vanity. When he recently entered treatment at Dana Farber in Boston and was surrounded by fellow cancer patients, he remarked: “It’s just so unfair. I don’t belong here. I’m so much younger and better looking!”    

Less widely known about Elazar was that he was also an athlete.

He played baseball from kindergarten into high school, excelled on his middle school cross country team, and was an important member of the 2008 Camden-Rockport team that won the Little League State Championship.

He was on the Megunticook Rowing Team despite his immense fear of dock spiders. He also was an avid skier who spent countless hours performing tricks on homemade, backyard jumps with his childhood friends Connor Lane and Eliot Grigo. He loved freestyle skiing at the Snow Bowl.

Elazar always worked hard, starting at Boynton-McKay Food Company at the age of 14. He continued to work there throughout high school, college and after college until he was 22. While there, he developed meaningful relationships with coworkers and people in the community with his warmth and sense of humor. He shared his knowledge and love of food by whipping up delicious impromptu meals, sometimes a bit too late at night.  

Elazar’s passion for clothing extended to making a living from it by buying and selling collector items, as well as designing shirts. Elazar recently took a solo trip to California and Nevada. He was planning on moving to Los Angeles to work and pursue his interests. 

Elazar is remembered by his parents, Jen and Marty; his sister, Kaia; Grandmother Kathleen Allwine; Grandparents John and Susann Iott; Grandfather Michael Harrison; aunts Jan, Amy, Sundai, Karen and Jonel;, uncles Steve, Mikel and Gene; cousins Sage, Jasper, Lauren, Meredith, Kelly, Miles, Alex and Spenser; as well as his extended family, including Charlie, Sunny and Sam Conlan, Will, Caroline, Oren and Grace Dennett, Hodding, Lisa, Anabel, Eliza, Helen and Angus Carter, and his dearest friends Jolly Brown, Eliot Grigo, and Cole Ellison, who came to spend some precious time with him in the last two weeks of his life. Elazar was a bright light which lit up a room. He will be missed tremendously.

Elazar was a bright light which lit up a room. He will be missed tremendously.

A Celebration of Life will be held on May 11 at the Rockport Opera House, time to be determined. 

To share a memory or condolence with Elizar’s family, please visits their Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.  Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland.