Colonel Lawrence "Larry" Ebner, Retired, husband of Mary Rose (Fagan) Ebner and brother of James N. Ebner, Major U.S. Retired and his wife Jacqueline of Virginia, passed away Saturday, March 3, 2012. He was born in Hartford son of the late Lawrence and Helen (Shea) Ebner and had lived in Wethersfield for many years. Colonel Ebner's recent civilian position was a Special Deputy Sheriff for Hartford County, and he had previously been employed as a commercial casualty superintendent with some leading insurance firms in the area. He retired from active Army military service in 1984 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and in 1995 he was appointed as a full colonel and as Army Reserve representative to Governor John Rowland's Military Staff. In his military career of some twenty five years of active and reserve duty his positions included Troop Commander, Operations and Training Officer and Civil Affairs Public Safety Officer. His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal and he held the Presidency of the Connecticut Chapter of the Civil Affairs Association as well as holding membership in the Reserve Officers Association and the Retired Officers Association. Dedicated to the preservation of military and other historical sites and facilities, he and a civilian Coast Guard historical environmentalist launched a campaign which resulted in a suit in U.S. Federal Court in NY to preserve Governors Island, New York's historic sites. Governors Island was the longest continually occupied military installation of the United States, and has been the object of several enormous real estate interests. Colonel Ebner graduated from St. Peter's School, Hartford, Wethersfield High School in 1955 and from the University of Connecticut, majoring in Government in 1959. It was at UCONN that he met his wife of 51 years, Mary Rose, and at which he obtained his commission as an Army Military Police Officer. Subsequent to his military retirement in 1984, Colonel Ebner dedicated himself to be a full time volunteer Town Councilor for two terms for the Town of Wethersfield, and he also ran for the State Legislature on two occasions. He was honored by the town in 1996 by being named Parade Marshall of the Memorial Day Parade, an event he relished and enjoyed greatly. He belonged to numerous organizations including The Hartford World Affairs Council, of which he chaired its Membership Committee. The Ebners particularly enjoyed entertaining foreign visitors, both youthful and adult and they communicated with friends they had made from Japan, Germany and Austria for years. He was also a member of the Met. Opera, The Irish American Home, and Good Speed Opera. The funeral will be Wednesday March, 7, 2012, 10:15 a.m. from the Dillon-Baxter Funeral Home, 1276 Berlin Take. Wethersfield, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial, 11:00 a.m. in Church of the Incarnation, 544 Prospect St. Wethersfield, CT 06019