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The News Leader - www.newsleader.com - Staunton, Va.
As a boy in the mountains of southwest Virginia, Fred Yates Jr. imagined himself the only deaf person in the world.
Yates was born hearing in 1926. A childhood bout with spinal meningitis stole that sense. At the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, however, Yates would learn the tools to reconnect to the world around him.
He arrived at VSDB in 1936, where he met a community of people just like himself.
"I think that's why he had such a strong affection for (the school), that was the first place he had ever seen sign language," said daughter April Keegan. "The fear and loneliness of possibly thinking you're the only person in the world this way was brought to a close when he arrived at VSDB."
Although Yates would graduate from VSDB and move on, first to Gallaudet University, where he met his wife Anna Belle McClung, and later to brief stints in South Carolina and California, Yates always returned to his beloved school in Virginia.
Yates' passion was deaf education. He spent the majority of his career at VSDB as a teacher, principal and mentor to the many students who passed through its doors.
Yates loved literature and poetry. He began his teaching career in the 1950s as a popular young English teacher. Colleagues and friends said he had a penchant for using famous quotes to help sum up a mood or a moment.
Yates also had his own way with words. When named the Virginia Association of the Deaf's Man of the Year in the 1960s, Yates shared his thoughts on honor, a central characteristic that those who knew him said he always displayed in his work with both education and politics.
"Honor, to me, is something within us, strong, powerful, so compelling that when we lose honor we lose ourselves," Yates wrote. "Honor to me is tied up in three words: Loyalty, duty and courage. The loyalty to stick by our friends when others leave them, the sense of duty to remain with a task until it is completed, the courage to speak up when others are silent."
One of the tasks he remained with until his death was ensuring the vitality of VSDB. Yates was a tireless advocate for the school, fighting through decades of consolidation talks to keep the Staunton campus open.
"Fred was a walking encyclopedia of Deaf history," wrote friend and former colleague Bobbie Dietz. "He had a vast knowledge of both VSDBs — Hampton and Staunton, and their place in the history of Deaf education in Virginia."
Del. Chris Saxman, R-Staunton, described Yates as both a great support and a great inspiration in the long battle to keep VSDB-Staunton open.
"He was the reason why you got out there and worked as hard as you did, because he believed in it," Saxman said.
Yates knew politics from his time in Richmond in the 1970s. He was the first director of the Virginia Council for the Deaf, now called the Virginia Department of the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing. In that role, Yates fought for more services for the deaf. Later deaf community advocates would look up to Yates as a model of leadership.
"I studied advocacy from him," wrote Rachel Bavister, president of the Virginia Association of the Deaf. "He taught me never to do anything in anger but also never to lose sight of my goals."
Yates continued to work with VSDB well after his retirement in 1986. He remained a frequent visitor to the school as late as last year, stopping by for special events or to share bits of history. He loved people, and his warm personality and good humor always shone through his many interactions with friends new and old.
"Mr. Yates was an icon in the deaf community," wrote VSDB Superintendent Nancy Armstrong. "His sense of humor, quick wit and diplomatic demeanor was appreciated by all who came in contact with him. He communicated well with people in all walks of life. To many he was a father, a grandfather, a friend and a mentor. He will be missed by all."
Yates died Tuesday at his Staunton home. He was 80 years old.
As a boy in the mountains of southwest Virginia, Fred Yates Jr. imagined himself the only deaf person in the world.
Yates was born hearing in 1926. A childhood bout with spinal meningitis stole that sense. At the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, however, Yates would learn the tools to reconnect to the world around him.
He arrived at VSDB in 1936, where he met a community of people just like himself.
"I think that's why he had such a strong affection for (the school), that was the first place he had ever seen sign language," said daughter April Keegan. "The fear and loneliness of possibly thinking you're the only person in the world this way was brought to a close when he arrived at VSDB."
Although Yates would graduate from VSDB and move on, first to Gallaudet University, where he met his wife Anna Belle McClung, and later to brief stints in South Carolina and California, Yates always returned to his beloved school in Virginia.
Yates' passion was deaf education. He spent the majority of his career at VSDB as a teacher, principal and mentor to the many students who passed through its doors.
Yates loved literature and poetry. He began his teaching career in the 1950s as a popular young English teacher. Colleagues and friends said he had a penchant for using famous quotes to help sum up a mood or a moment.
Yates also had his own way with words. When named the Virginia Association of the Deaf's Man of the Year in the 1960s, Yates shared his thoughts on honor, a central characteristic that those who knew him said he always displayed in his work with both education and politics.
"Honor, to me, is something within us, strong, powerful, so compelling that when we lose honor we lose ourselves," Yates wrote. "Honor to me is tied up in three words: Loyalty, duty and courage. The loyalty to stick by our friends when others leave them, the sense of duty to remain with a task until it is completed, the courage to speak up when others are silent."
One of the tasks he remained with until his death was ensuring the vitality of VSDB. Yates was a tireless advocate for the school, fighting through decades of consolidation talks to keep the Staunton campus open.
"Fred was a walking encyclopedia of Deaf history," wrote friend and former colleague Bobbie Dietz. "He had a vast knowledge of both VSDBs — Hampton and Staunton, and their place in the history of Deaf education in Virginia."
Del. Chris Saxman, R-Staunton, described Yates as both a great support and a great inspiration in the long battle to keep VSDB-Staunton open.
"He was the reason why you got out there and worked as hard as you did, because he believed in it," Saxman said.
Yates knew politics from his time in Richmond in the 1970s. He was the first director of the Virginia Council for the Deaf, now called the Virginia Department of the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing. In that role, Yates fought for more services for the deaf. Later deaf community advocates would look up to Yates as a model of leadership.
"I studied advocacy from him," wrote Rachel Bavister, president of the Virginia Association of the Deaf. "He taught me never to do anything in anger but also never to lose sight of my goals."
Yates continued to work with VSDB well after his retirement in 1986. He remained a frequent visitor to the school as late as last year, stopping by for special events or to share bits of history. He loved people, and his warm personality and good humor always shone through his many interactions with friends new and old.
"Mr. Yates was an icon in the deaf community," wrote VSDB Superintendent Nancy Armstrong. "His sense of humor, quick wit and diplomatic demeanor was appreciated by all who came in contact with him. He communicated well with people in all walks of life. To many he was a father, a grandfather, a friend and a mentor. He will be missed by all."
Yates died Tuesday at his Staunton home. He was 80 years old.