Undoubtedly, many Scouters in our council were saddened to hear of Merle L. “Skip” Ebert, Jr.’s passing on Monday, November 18.
Skip served as President of the Keystone Area Council from November 2000 until November 2002 and as a member of the New Birth of Freedom Council’s Executive Board from 2010 to 2012.
Skip was passionate about many things in his remarkable life, including the Scouting program. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1962, and his service as an adult volunteer spanned many roles, including his tenure as Council President and an Executive Board member. He was a founding member of the Friends of Hidden Valley, District Chairman for the Kittatinny District, Explorer Post Committee Chair, and Chartered Organization Representative for Pack and Troop 189 at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Carlisle. He served as the New Birth of Freedom Council’s Advancement Chair from 2010-2012 and was a Council Advisory Board member from 2013 to 2022. Skip received the Silver Beaver Award in 1998 and earned his Wood Badge beads in 2000.
“Skip was involved in Scouts for decades and lived the Scout Oath and Law on a daily basis,” recalled former New Birth of Freedom Council President and retired attorney Alan R. Boynton, Jr. “As a lawyer, prosecutor, judge, and community volunteer, he was professional and thorough, but also courteous to those he dealt with and focused on ensuring that justice was served.
“He served the Keystone Area Council and New Birth of Freedom Council in many capacities but was best known for his willingness to take on disputes and controversies that required a level head and a deft touch to find resolutions. The Scouting community will miss his guidance and leadership.”
Skip’s legal career included roles as a public defender, prosecutor, and judge. He served as District Attorney of Cumberland County from 1996 to 2006, when he was elected Judge in the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas, where he served for 12 years. He made the unusual decision to step down from the bench voluntarily and returned to the district attorney’s office in 2018 when his successor, David Freed, was named U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
“Skip had an interesting legal career, going from being a District Attorney, then becoming a judge, then realizing that he liked being a District Attorney better and went back to serving in that role,” said former New Birth of Freedom Council President Matthew M. Haar, an attorney himself and Managing Partner of the Harrisburg office of Saul Ewing.
“District Attorneys becoming judges happens all the time, but judges don’t return to being a District Attorney. That’s a move I’ve never heard of, and the only person I’ve ever heard of doing that.”
In addition to the news coverage of Skip’s passing, you can read his obituary and funeral and visitation arrangements at https://www.hoffmanfh.com/obituaries/merle-l-skip-ebert-jr.
Yours in Scouting,
Ron Gardner
Scout Executive & CEO