BROOKLINE, N.H. (AP) – Sandra Garrity, a developmentally disabled woman whose case helped expose the abuse and neglect that led to the closing of the Laconia State School for the mentally retarded, has died of pancreatic cancer. She was 45.

New Hampshire then became the first state in the nation to adopt a policy of providing services locally to the developmentally disabled through a network of private, nonprofit agencies.

Garrity, who died at home in Brookline on Friday, July 22, was the lead plaintiff in Garrity vs. Gallen, a lawsuit filed against the state that accused the school of maintaining horrific conditions for its residents. She was sent to the school in 1968 when she was 8 and remained there until she was 21.

The school was supposed to be a training institution, but during testimony in the 1980 trial, witnesses said that it was, in fact, a human warehouse where residents were often left alone to sit naked in their feces and urine. Staff prodded residents with hatpins, burned them with cigarettes and kicked them.

They also shut off the water at night, forcing anyone who was thirsty to drink from the toilets.

“They came to Laconia State School for training, education, but no one left, everyone regressed,” John MacIntosh, a lead attorney in the case, told The Telegraph. “Illness ran rampant. Violence ran rampant. Death ran rampant. It was much worse than the state hospital (for the mentally ill) in Concord.”

While she was the school, Garrity never learned to speak, instead communicating in fragments that often began with “no way” followed by the pronoun “me.”

“No them put me in no straitjacket no more,” she later told her foster care provider, Heather Pendry. “No them hit me no more. No them throw me down the stairs no more. No them pull my hair no more,” The Telegraph reported.

Garrity had to work at getting even the most basic of provisions, such as a cup of coffee. She learned that if she behaved, she would be rewarded with a trip to the canteen for her favorite drink. She learned to guard her cup, to drink quickly, and to recognize that any other human being was a potential coffee thief. No cup in hand was ever safe.

There was no statewide community network to support residents of the institution who would need a place to live after the school closed, MacIntosh said. Several years later, community-based programs were provided to help families and their loved ones with developmental disabilities.

Before becoming part of the Pendry family more than 10 years ago, Garrity had lived in several group homes. At age 45, she was able to sign her name to birthday and Father’s Day cards for the first time.

She worked for The PLUS Co. in Nashua, which taught the disabled skills.

She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last fall. In December, Pendry organized a party to celebrate Garrity’s life.

A memorial service was held Wednesday in Manchester. Garrity’s friends and extended family in a lobby with a long table set with cartons of coffee and boxes of doughnuts.

“For one last tribute, there’s coffee in the foyer on behalf of the family,” said the Rev. Kevin Twombly, Heather Pendry’s brother. “They want you to enjoy that cup of coffee and remember Sandy.”

AP-ES-07-28-05 0918EDT