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After four decades at School for the Deaf, couple signs off | Inland News | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California
Rick and Mary Jane Fertig were unlikely hires at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside.
Neither is deaf nor did they have any deaf friends or family members. Neither knew sign language.
Bu they fell in love with the school, the students and each other and stayed a total of 80 years between them. Today, they're punching out for good.
"We feel like we're leaving the programs in a good place, going in the right direction," Rick Fertig said. "We're also praying hard."
Rick Fertig, 60, known for his quick wit, is the school's curriculum coordinator. Mary Jane Fertig, 61, celebrated for her spontaneous laugh, is a supervising counselor in the residential program.
"They're two of the finest individuals we've ever had here and we're so much the wiser because of them," said Alyce Berard, director of instruction, who has known the Fertigs for 35 years.
The Fertigs were admittedly clueless about deaf education when they joined the staff in 1969. They were 21 that August, single and not destined to cross paths for three years.
Fresh out of college, Rick Fertig, an El Monte native, had his teaching credential but no experience. Mary Jane Contreras worked with blind children in Berkeley, but wanted to move closer to her family in Ontario.
Mary Jane immediately adored her dorm-counseling job, while Rick struggled teaching elementary school, then middle school. "They were not good matches," he said.
Student Plays Matchmaker
Neither was his initial hookup with his future wife, which was brokered by one of his students who lived in her dorm. The girl passed Rick and Mary Jane notes supposedly written to each another. But their authorship was transparent.
"Dear Contreras," read a typical letter, Rick remembers. "You are hot Mexico girl. I want date with you. We will have fun time. Rick Fertig."
The student would hand Rick a letter that said: "You are handsome man. I would like date you. Mary Jane Contreras."
Rick and Mary Jane decided to play along.
"It was a disaster," Rick recalls. "I was a slob. I still am. Janie wore a white eyelet dress she'd made. I arrived in an old, unwashed pickup."
Mary Jane recalls it the same way. "I saw this greasy chain on the floor of his truck. I thought, 'Eeeeyooooooo.'"
They dined at The Castaway in San Bernardino, which still is their favorite restaurant. While he laughed at a Mel Brooks' movie, "The Twelve Chairs," Mary Jane kept glancing at her watch.
That was that. Until Mary Jane joined a Riverside church and befriended two young men. Unbeknownst to her, they were his thinner, taller brothers who had hair. After Rick joined the church and reacquainted himself with Mary Jane, they wed in 1979 and laughed happily ever after.
"That's how we get through life," Mary Jane said.
They have one daughter, Erica, 25, a UC Riverside graduate who works at the local Nordstrom.
The Fertigs consider their extended family to be the California School for the Deaf.
Easy to Give
"I wonder how Rick could have any heart left, because he's given little pieces to thousands of students at the school," said his supervisor, Mary Hanlon, director of technology and training services. "If CSDR is here 200 years from now, there will never be another person here for 40 years who gave as much as Rick did."
But the Fertigs say it's easy to give so much to children who are guileless, affectionate and accepting of everyone.
"They knew we wouldn't give up on them," Mary Jane said.
Returning alumni, toting their grandchildren, continue to say, "Thank you for loving me."
Better teaching methods and technological breakthroughs have wrought major changes in deaf education throughout the last four decades, the couple says. American Sign Language with its own deaf idioms has replaced "total communication," comprised of signing, speaking, finger spelling and lip reading.
Other bridges to communication are e-mails, web cams, closed caption TV, texting, and video relay phones, wherein one of the parties to a call uses sign language transmitted by cameras.
"In 1969 the only jobs were in linotype, data entry, mail sorting and bakeries," Rick said. "Now they can do anything if they put their mind to."
'Walls Came Down'
Despite huge strides in 40 years, he said that many deaf students still struggle with literacy. Increasingly, they're from dysfunctional homes where neither parent signs.
"The deaf children are isolated and they have no behavior models," Rick said.
To enlighten parents about deaf culture and to encourage them to sign, Mary Jane led family weekend workshops in the mountains. "The walls came down," she said.
They're loath to say goodbye, "but it's time," Rick said. "I need to feel retired."
He plans to care for his elderly parents, work puzzles and read; she's eager to garden and sew. Travel to national parks and a permanent move to Oregon figure prominently on their to-do list.
"We've changed some hearts and some people have changed ours," Rick said. "We have come better people from working here."
Rick and Mary Jane Fertig were unlikely hires at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside.
Neither is deaf nor did they have any deaf friends or family members. Neither knew sign language.
Bu they fell in love with the school, the students and each other and stayed a total of 80 years between them. Today, they're punching out for good.
"We feel like we're leaving the programs in a good place, going in the right direction," Rick Fertig said. "We're also praying hard."
Rick Fertig, 60, known for his quick wit, is the school's curriculum coordinator. Mary Jane Fertig, 61, celebrated for her spontaneous laugh, is a supervising counselor in the residential program.
"They're two of the finest individuals we've ever had here and we're so much the wiser because of them," said Alyce Berard, director of instruction, who has known the Fertigs for 35 years.
The Fertigs were admittedly clueless about deaf education when they joined the staff in 1969. They were 21 that August, single and not destined to cross paths for three years.
Fresh out of college, Rick Fertig, an El Monte native, had his teaching credential but no experience. Mary Jane Contreras worked with blind children in Berkeley, but wanted to move closer to her family in Ontario.
Mary Jane immediately adored her dorm-counseling job, while Rick struggled teaching elementary school, then middle school. "They were not good matches," he said.
Student Plays Matchmaker
Neither was his initial hookup with his future wife, which was brokered by one of his students who lived in her dorm. The girl passed Rick and Mary Jane notes supposedly written to each another. But their authorship was transparent.
"Dear Contreras," read a typical letter, Rick remembers. "You are hot Mexico girl. I want date with you. We will have fun time. Rick Fertig."
The student would hand Rick a letter that said: "You are handsome man. I would like date you. Mary Jane Contreras."
Rick and Mary Jane decided to play along.
"It was a disaster," Rick recalls. "I was a slob. I still am. Janie wore a white eyelet dress she'd made. I arrived in an old, unwashed pickup."
Mary Jane recalls it the same way. "I saw this greasy chain on the floor of his truck. I thought, 'Eeeeyooooooo.'"
They dined at The Castaway in San Bernardino, which still is their favorite restaurant. While he laughed at a Mel Brooks' movie, "The Twelve Chairs," Mary Jane kept glancing at her watch.
That was that. Until Mary Jane joined a Riverside church and befriended two young men. Unbeknownst to her, they were his thinner, taller brothers who had hair. After Rick joined the church and reacquainted himself with Mary Jane, they wed in 1979 and laughed happily ever after.
"That's how we get through life," Mary Jane said.
They have one daughter, Erica, 25, a UC Riverside graduate who works at the local Nordstrom.
The Fertigs consider their extended family to be the California School for the Deaf.
Easy to Give
"I wonder how Rick could have any heart left, because he's given little pieces to thousands of students at the school," said his supervisor, Mary Hanlon, director of technology and training services. "If CSDR is here 200 years from now, there will never be another person here for 40 years who gave as much as Rick did."
But the Fertigs say it's easy to give so much to children who are guileless, affectionate and accepting of everyone.
"They knew we wouldn't give up on them," Mary Jane said.
Returning alumni, toting their grandchildren, continue to say, "Thank you for loving me."
Better teaching methods and technological breakthroughs have wrought major changes in deaf education throughout the last four decades, the couple says. American Sign Language with its own deaf idioms has replaced "total communication," comprised of signing, speaking, finger spelling and lip reading.
Other bridges to communication are e-mails, web cams, closed caption TV, texting, and video relay phones, wherein one of the parties to a call uses sign language transmitted by cameras.
"In 1969 the only jobs were in linotype, data entry, mail sorting and bakeries," Rick said. "Now they can do anything if they put their mind to."
'Walls Came Down'
Despite huge strides in 40 years, he said that many deaf students still struggle with literacy. Increasingly, they're from dysfunctional homes where neither parent signs.
"The deaf children are isolated and they have no behavior models," Rick said.
To enlighten parents about deaf culture and to encourage them to sign, Mary Jane led family weekend workshops in the mountains. "The walls came down," she said.
They're loath to say goodbye, "but it's time," Rick said. "I need to feel retired."
He plans to care for his elderly parents, work puzzles and read; she's eager to garden and sew. Travel to national parks and a permanent move to Oregon figure prominently on their to-do list.
"We've changed some hearts and some people have changed ours," Rick said. "We have come better people from working here."