Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Force for Deaf Education Passes

Rober Parara
Photo from NTID website
Deaf educator Robert Panara has died at the age of 94. He passed away of natural causes this past weekend in Rochester, New York. Panara taught at both Gallaudet University in Washington, DC and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, which he helped to found in Rochester. He also started Connecticut's National Theater of the Deaf.  Parana's full story is told in the book Teaching from Heart and Soul: The Robert F. Panara Storystarting with his loss of hearing at the age of 10 because of spinal meningitis.  NTID President Gerry Buckley says, "Bob's legacy is indeed vast. Thousands of students and graduates have been influenced by his genuine love of teaching and his generous sharing of his beliefs, values and knowledge." NTID plans a memorial for Panara in September. Read more at the NTID website here.