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Deaf group co-founder from Riverside dies at 85 | Inland News | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California
Dickey DeLoss, who co-founded Friends of California School for the Deaf, served with numerous other Riverside community organizations and portrayed citrus industry founder Eliza Tibbets at civic events, has died.
She was 85.
She died Feb. 7 at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Riverside of a massive stroke. Her funeral was Feb. 15 at Magnolia Presbyterian Church and she was interred at Riverside National Cemetery.
Mrs. DeLoss moved to Riverside in 1960 so her son Norman could attend the California School for the Deaf. A real estate broker, she served as president of the local board of Realtors and also as president of the Magnolia Center Chamber of Commerce.
"Everything she did, she did with enthusiasm," Realtor Walt McDonald said. "She brought a smile to the meeting when she came. She just energized people."
More than 20 years ago, with then-Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce President Art Pick, Mrs. DeLoss founded the nonprofit Friends of California School for the Deaf to raise money for the state school in Riverside.
The Friends had $800 when the group started and it now has $125,000 in the bank, in part thanks to Mrs. DeLoss's tireless efforts, said Deborah Berzins, the school's outreach coordinator and a member of the Friends' board.
"She was very much an advocate for the deaf here in Riverside," Berzins said.
She also served on the Goeske Senior Center board, the city Human Relations Commission and the city Commission on Disabilities.
As a young woman, she sang and danced with the USO during World War II and met her husband, Warren, while he served in the U.S. Army Air Force. He died in 1990.
Born in Memphis, Tenn., Mrs. DeLoss never lost her accent or her gracious manners.
"She was a lady," Berzins said. "She was a Southern belle."
She is survived by sons Norman and John Glenn DeLoss and their wives, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
The family requests donations to Friends of C.S.D.R., 3044 Horace St., Riverside, CA 92506.
Dickey DeLoss, who co-founded Friends of California School for the Deaf, served with numerous other Riverside community organizations and portrayed citrus industry founder Eliza Tibbets at civic events, has died.
She was 85.
She died Feb. 7 at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Riverside of a massive stroke. Her funeral was Feb. 15 at Magnolia Presbyterian Church and she was interred at Riverside National Cemetery.
Mrs. DeLoss moved to Riverside in 1960 so her son Norman could attend the California School for the Deaf. A real estate broker, she served as president of the local board of Realtors and also as president of the Magnolia Center Chamber of Commerce.
"Everything she did, she did with enthusiasm," Realtor Walt McDonald said. "She brought a smile to the meeting when she came. She just energized people."
More than 20 years ago, with then-Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce President Art Pick, Mrs. DeLoss founded the nonprofit Friends of California School for the Deaf to raise money for the state school in Riverside.
The Friends had $800 when the group started and it now has $125,000 in the bank, in part thanks to Mrs. DeLoss's tireless efforts, said Deborah Berzins, the school's outreach coordinator and a member of the Friends' board.
"She was very much an advocate for the deaf here in Riverside," Berzins said.
She also served on the Goeske Senior Center board, the city Human Relations Commission and the city Commission on Disabilities.
As a young woman, she sang and danced with the USO during World War II and met her husband, Warren, while he served in the U.S. Army Air Force. He died in 1990.
Born in Memphis, Tenn., Mrs. DeLoss never lost her accent or her gracious manners.
"She was a lady," Berzins said. "She was a Southern belle."
She is survived by sons Norman and John Glenn DeLoss and their wives, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
The family requests donations to Friends of C.S.D.R., 3044 Horace St., Riverside, CA 92506.