After two decades of meting out justice to the residents of New Berlin, a local judge is ready to turn in her robes.

Mary Ann Ellis was born and raised in New York City. “Most of my childhood was spent in Brooklyn,” she said. She also explained not many people know she is an identical twin.

Following high school, Ellis said she immediately headed into the work force, where she found a job in a large insurance firm. Being a secretary paid off, Ellis explained, as the phone turned out to be the connection between her and the man she would marry.

“Allan called and we talked a little, then he called again and we became pen pals of sorts,” Ellis said. Before long, Ellis said, she found herself traveling across the country to California to meet him. Mary Ann then moved to California, and she and Allan spent four years in the Santa Monica area.

“We decided to move back east. I missed my family, and he was raised in the New York area too,” said Ellis. “We moved back and ended up getting a house three blocks from where I grew up, where my parents were,” she said.

After living the “big city” life, Mary Ann said, she and Allan decided to get a summer home in upstate New York. Mary Ann said the summer home turned into their permanent home as they arrived in New Berlin without jobs in 1975. “Allan found work in the insurance business but it took me a little longer,” said Ellis. During this time, the couple had their third child.

Ellis started working for the New Berlin Art Forum part-time, and in time, she and Allan opened the Town Edge restaurant in New Berlin. Ellis said she worked in the restaurant and for the Art Forum for roughly five years before changing positions.

She got involved in the Village of New Berlin community development program, which today is known as the New Berlin Housing and Preservation Company. Throughout the 1980s, she helped in grant writing and other efforts to help individuals find affordable housing.

During the years working for the community program, Ellis said the Village of New Berlin justice resigned, and she was asked to fill in as the interim judge. “I really didn’t know a lot about the position, but I said sure, why not?” said Ellis. She explained she had served on committees and boards before which helped prepare her for the position.