Sad news of Bill Stokoe

[Leila Monaghan]

Just wanted to let the people on this list know about the death of Bill
Stokoe, an occasional participant in our discussions, first person to
systematically describe American Sign Language in linguistic terms, a
leader in the fight for Deaf civil rights, and a warm, kind and generous
man.  He will be much missed.

Leila


from Carol Erting...
>
> Dear friends,
>     I want to let you know that Bill Stokoe passed away last night at
> home.  Although weakened considerably since the first of the year, Bill
> continued to correspond with his friends and colleagues on email and in
> person until just last week when he took a turn for the worse.  Joe and
> I saw him on Sunday and even though he was medicated for pain and in
> some discomfort, he greeted us with a big smile and was able to say a
> few words to us. It is difficult to comprehend the loss of such a
> wonderful human being, a friend and colleague to the end.
>
>     I'll pass on any other information as it becomes available. Just
> after the new year, Bill gave a sizable donation to Gallaudet for the
> purpose of beginning a fund that will eventually endow a Professorship
> in his name (of course Bill wanted to name the Chair in honor of George
> Detmold, not himself, but we talked him out of it).
>
>     If you would like to send a note to the family (his son Jim and wife
> Caroline and two grandchildren Nathanial and Madeline and his daughter
> Helen and her husband Roger and daughter Jennifer), here is the address:
>
> 3519 Cummings Lane
> Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
>
>     Peace,
>     Carol
>
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