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The Seattle Times: Local News: Geoff Mathay, dedicated teacher of sign language
He was a gentle, compassionate man, an instructor devoted to teaching American Sign Language (ASL) who moved with ease between the world of the hearing and the world of the deaf.
Geoff Mathay, 51, died of a heart attack Thursday at Seattle Central Community College (SCCC), where he had been a longtime ASL instructor.
"He was really on the forefront in bringing technology and distance learning to deaf students," said Seattle Community Colleges Chancellor Charles Mitchell. "He was just respected by everyone. He had such a rapport with people, especially with our deaf students and with those of the deaf community."
In his spare time, Mr. Mathay often headed for the outdoors. He and his wife, Vicki Moseley, would drive up to Snoqualmie Pass in the middle of the night to see meteor showers. He enjoyed white-water rafting, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Mr. Mathay also liked playing the guitar and listening to the Beatles.
He had a good sense of humor, Moseley said through a sign-language interpreter: "Some of his friends called him 'Goofy.' "
Born in Seattle, Mr. Mathay grew up in the Wedgwood neighborhood until he and his family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he attended high school. Mr. Mathay returned to Seattle and in 1983 graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in geography.
During that time, he also learned sign language in SCCC's Interpreter Training Program. He then earned a master's degree in deafness rehabilitation from New York University. "That's where he fell in love with cheesecake," said Moseley.
Mr. Mathay worked with deaf young adults in both Seattle and New York. And in 1985, Mr. Mathay hired on as a job-placement specialist at Gallaudet University, a liberal-arts college for the deaf and hard of hearing in Washington, D.C.
At Gallaudet he met his future wife, who was working as a career counselor in the same office. "We didn't like each other at first," Moseley said. "He thought I was a party animal, and I thought he was a workaholic." But when she moved to Seattle in 1988, he followed.
n 1989, Mr. Mathay became a part-time researcher for SCCC and began teaching American Sign Language there. He and his wife were married that same year.
"He loved going to work every day," Moseley said. "I think he only missed five days in the 18 years that he worked there, and that was only because he was so terribly sick he couldn't get out of bed."
Mr. Mathay, who coordinated the statewide American Sign Language Consortium for high-school teachers, became district faculty-development coordinator for the Seattle Community Colleges in January.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughter Emily Mathay, of Seattle; his son Ryan Hutchison, his son's wife, Audrey Hutchison, and their son Huskel Hutchison, all of Austin, Texas; his brother, Mark Mathay, of Shoreline; his sister, Deborah Lindsey, of Corvallis, Ore.; and his mother, Joan Mathay, of Seattle.
A service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the SCCC Student Activities Center, 1718 Broadway, Room 2SAC314, in Seattle.
Remembrances may be sent to the Emily Mathay Education Fund, Washington Mutual, 8555 15th Ave. N.W., Seattle, WA 98117, or to the Geoff Mathay Scholarship Fund at SCCC, 1701 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122.
He was a gentle, compassionate man, an instructor devoted to teaching American Sign Language (ASL) who moved with ease between the world of the hearing and the world of the deaf.
Geoff Mathay, 51, died of a heart attack Thursday at Seattle Central Community College (SCCC), where he had been a longtime ASL instructor.
"He was really on the forefront in bringing technology and distance learning to deaf students," said Seattle Community Colleges Chancellor Charles Mitchell. "He was just respected by everyone. He had such a rapport with people, especially with our deaf students and with those of the deaf community."
In his spare time, Mr. Mathay often headed for the outdoors. He and his wife, Vicki Moseley, would drive up to Snoqualmie Pass in the middle of the night to see meteor showers. He enjoyed white-water rafting, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Mr. Mathay also liked playing the guitar and listening to the Beatles.
He had a good sense of humor, Moseley said through a sign-language interpreter: "Some of his friends called him 'Goofy.' "
Born in Seattle, Mr. Mathay grew up in the Wedgwood neighborhood until he and his family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he attended high school. Mr. Mathay returned to Seattle and in 1983 graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in geography.
During that time, he also learned sign language in SCCC's Interpreter Training Program. He then earned a master's degree in deafness rehabilitation from New York University. "That's where he fell in love with cheesecake," said Moseley.
Mr. Mathay worked with deaf young adults in both Seattle and New York. And in 1985, Mr. Mathay hired on as a job-placement specialist at Gallaudet University, a liberal-arts college for the deaf and hard of hearing in Washington, D.C.
At Gallaudet he met his future wife, who was working as a career counselor in the same office. "We didn't like each other at first," Moseley said. "He thought I was a party animal, and I thought he was a workaholic." But when she moved to Seattle in 1988, he followed.
n 1989, Mr. Mathay became a part-time researcher for SCCC and began teaching American Sign Language there. He and his wife were married that same year.
"He loved going to work every day," Moseley said. "I think he only missed five days in the 18 years that he worked there, and that was only because he was so terribly sick he couldn't get out of bed."
Mr. Mathay, who coordinated the statewide American Sign Language Consortium for high-school teachers, became district faculty-development coordinator for the Seattle Community Colleges in January.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughter Emily Mathay, of Seattle; his son Ryan Hutchison, his son's wife, Audrey Hutchison, and their son Huskel Hutchison, all of Austin, Texas; his brother, Mark Mathay, of Shoreline; his sister, Deborah Lindsey, of Corvallis, Ore.; and his mother, Joan Mathay, of Seattle.
A service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the SCCC Student Activities Center, 1718 Broadway, Room 2SAC314, in Seattle.
Remembrances may be sent to the Emily Mathay Education Fund, Washington Mutual, 8555 15th Ave. N.W., Seattle, WA 98117, or to the Geoff Mathay Scholarship Fund at SCCC, 1701 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122.