Jane Dewey Ellsworth; Started Myasthenia Gravis Foundation

Jane Dewey Ellsworth, 80, founder of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation. A native of Greenfield, Mass., Mrs. Ellsworth studied at Smith College and had a brief career as an actress on Broadway and with Paramount Studios in Hollywood. She created the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation in 1954 after her daughter, Patricia, was stricken with the debilitating illness. In 1955, Mrs. Ellsworth established the California chapter of the organization and worked diligently to raise money for research and treatment of the nerve disorder. Headquartered in Chicago, the foundation has 53 chapters throughout the country. In Westlake Village northwest of Los Angeles on Aug. 30 of emphysema.