Daphne Sprague, a Maine educator and disability rights advocate who was the first quadriplegic person to attend the University of Maine after she fought to have the university admit her, died from complications from an infection on July 7 in Portland.
Sprague was born in Waterville in 1952 and grew up in Dover-Foxcroft, the second of five children, according to her obituary published Monday on the Bangor Daily News website.
As a child and teenager, she was a pianist, athlete, and honors student at Foxcroft Academy. In 1970, at the age of 18, she was seriously injured in a car crash that left her a quadriplegic. After a year of hospitalization and rehabilitation, she returned home to Piscataquis County, determined to finish her high school education, and attend the University of Maine.
In 1971, nearly 20 years before Congress passed the Americans With Disabilities Act, many disabled students were not typically accepted into most colleges and universities.
“The school didn’t even realize she was disabled at first, and at that point, they weren’t even sure they were going to let her attend. There were no laws that mandated that she be allowed in,” Ashley Gallant, her sister, said. “She was a pioneer in that she convinced them that was the direction they needed to go in.”
