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He saw so clearly the need to help the deaf and blind | www.azstarnet.com ®
Challenges facing the deaf and the blind go far beyond communication.
People who can see and hear can take for granted activities — preparing meals, taking walks, living independently — that are obstacles for those with visual and hearing impairments.
Charles "Rod" Ferrell was neither deaf nor blind but made it his mission to help those who were navigating the barriers.
"He helped identify the issues, determined what support they needed, determined what resources in the community were there for them," said Anne Levy, executive director for the Community Outreach Program for the Deaf in Tucson.
"He was one of the few folks who was really able to identify with the individuals that he served and create some opportunities for change," Levy said.
His area of expertise was working with people who were both deaf and blind.
When symptoms of diabetes and multiple sclerosis forced Ferrell to leave the advocacy field seven years ago, Levy said, the quality of the service in the state diminished for deaf and blind people.
Ferrell, 59, died in hospice care April 4 of complications from the two diseases.
The West Virginia-born Ferrell was diagnosed with diabetes at age 18, said his daughter, Kelly Koren. The illness qualified him for a scholarship to Ohio University in the field of rehabilitation. That led to an internship working with the deaf.
"He loved the people he worked with, and he felt like it was his calling," she said.
Koren and her brother, Chris, occasionally accompanied their father when he took his students to camp or on field trips.
"I remember we'd go on trips with deaf and blind kids and he'd sign into their hands," Koren said.
"He brought up his kids to really respect that population," said their mother, Jan Prendiville, Ferrell's ex-wife.
The couple met at Ohio University, where Ferrell earned a bachelor's degree in psychology. After marrying in 1969, they moved on to West Virginia University where he got a master's in rehabilitation counseling.
"He was one of the most ambitious people I ever knew," Prendiville said.
In 1970, Ferrell took a job as an assistant dean at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a college for deaf, hearing-impaired and hearing students.
After nine years, he moved with his family to Tucson to further his education and work as dean of student life at the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
Charlene Kampfe, an associate professor in special education and school psychology at the University of Arizona, met Ferrell when they were students in the UA Ph.D. program.
"He was extraordinarily knowledgeable about the deaf-blind community," she said.
After leaving the school, Ferrell helped establish new programs at the Community Outreach Program for the Deaf and worked as the Arizona state rehabilitation coordinator for the deaf and the blind.
After he and Prendiville divorced, Ferrell moved to Washington, D.C., to work for the Helen Keller National Center.
"He had wonderful communication skills," said Executive Director Joe McNulty, from the Helen Keller center's home office in New York. "He had an excellent rapport. He had a very, very nice combination of knowledge of deaf-blindness. Having the technical expertise, he had the sign-language skills. He knew blindness; he knew deafness. He had a warmth to him, so when he was working the ability to relate to people came through and made him very, very effective."
Though based in Washington, Ferrell was still able to help the deaf and blind of Arizona.
"He was able to work very effectively with the Helen Keller Center to create opportunities for people in Tucson to get the training and skills they needed," Levy said.
"When Rod was running the services in Arizona," McNulty said, "it really was one of the top programs in the country, and that was due to him."
Not long after taking the job at the center, though, Ferrell's multiple sclerosis worsened and made it impossible for him to work. That and the unexpected death of his second wife in 1999 chipped away at his spirit.
In 2000, Ferrell's children persuaded him to return to Tucson. Ferrell had designed a home to accommodate his wheelchair, but by then the MS had progressed and he couldn't live on his own. When he moved into an assisted-living facility, he contracted an infection linked to his diabetes that required both legs be amputated below the knee. After that, said his ex-wife, he seldom left his room.
The diabetes and the MS slowly deteriorated Ferrell's body, said his son, but Chris Ferrell doesn't dwell on the end of his father's life.
"You have people out there that are either 'me people' or 'you people.' He was one of those 'you people.' He always put other people ahead of himself," his son said.
Challenges facing the deaf and the blind go far beyond communication.
People who can see and hear can take for granted activities — preparing meals, taking walks, living independently — that are obstacles for those with visual and hearing impairments.
Charles "Rod" Ferrell was neither deaf nor blind but made it his mission to help those who were navigating the barriers.
"He helped identify the issues, determined what support they needed, determined what resources in the community were there for them," said Anne Levy, executive director for the Community Outreach Program for the Deaf in Tucson.
"He was one of the few folks who was really able to identify with the individuals that he served and create some opportunities for change," Levy said.
His area of expertise was working with people who were both deaf and blind.
When symptoms of diabetes and multiple sclerosis forced Ferrell to leave the advocacy field seven years ago, Levy said, the quality of the service in the state diminished for deaf and blind people.
Ferrell, 59, died in hospice care April 4 of complications from the two diseases.
The West Virginia-born Ferrell was diagnosed with diabetes at age 18, said his daughter, Kelly Koren. The illness qualified him for a scholarship to Ohio University in the field of rehabilitation. That led to an internship working with the deaf.
"He loved the people he worked with, and he felt like it was his calling," she said.
Koren and her brother, Chris, occasionally accompanied their father when he took his students to camp or on field trips.
"I remember we'd go on trips with deaf and blind kids and he'd sign into their hands," Koren said.
"He brought up his kids to really respect that population," said their mother, Jan Prendiville, Ferrell's ex-wife.
The couple met at Ohio University, where Ferrell earned a bachelor's degree in psychology. After marrying in 1969, they moved on to West Virginia University where he got a master's in rehabilitation counseling.
"He was one of the most ambitious people I ever knew," Prendiville said.
In 1970, Ferrell took a job as an assistant dean at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a college for deaf, hearing-impaired and hearing students.
After nine years, he moved with his family to Tucson to further his education and work as dean of student life at the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
Charlene Kampfe, an associate professor in special education and school psychology at the University of Arizona, met Ferrell when they were students in the UA Ph.D. program.
"He was extraordinarily knowledgeable about the deaf-blind community," she said.
After leaving the school, Ferrell helped establish new programs at the Community Outreach Program for the Deaf and worked as the Arizona state rehabilitation coordinator for the deaf and the blind.
After he and Prendiville divorced, Ferrell moved to Washington, D.C., to work for the Helen Keller National Center.
"He had wonderful communication skills," said Executive Director Joe McNulty, from the Helen Keller center's home office in New York. "He had an excellent rapport. He had a very, very nice combination of knowledge of deaf-blindness. Having the technical expertise, he had the sign-language skills. He knew blindness; he knew deafness. He had a warmth to him, so when he was working the ability to relate to people came through and made him very, very effective."
Though based in Washington, Ferrell was still able to help the deaf and blind of Arizona.
"He was able to work very effectively with the Helen Keller Center to create opportunities for people in Tucson to get the training and skills they needed," Levy said.
"When Rod was running the services in Arizona," McNulty said, "it really was one of the top programs in the country, and that was due to him."
Not long after taking the job at the center, though, Ferrell's multiple sclerosis worsened and made it impossible for him to work. That and the unexpected death of his second wife in 1999 chipped away at his spirit.
In 2000, Ferrell's children persuaded him to return to Tucson. Ferrell had designed a home to accommodate his wheelchair, but by then the MS had progressed and he couldn't live on his own. When he moved into an assisted-living facility, he contracted an infection linked to his diabetes that required both legs be amputated below the knee. After that, said his ex-wife, he seldom left his room.
The diabetes and the MS slowly deteriorated Ferrell's body, said his son, but Chris Ferrell doesn't dwell on the end of his father's life.
"You have people out there that are either 'me people' or 'you people.' He was one of those 'you people.' He always put other people ahead of himself," his son said.