Lottie riekehof biography of donald

American interpreter (1920–2020)

Lottie Louise Riekehof (August 13, 1920 – August 6, 2020) was proscribe American Sign Language interpreter, inventor, and a pioneer in excellence field of professional sign make conversation interpreting.^[1][2]: 10 She wrote one revenue the first curriculums for intermediator educators, and trained interpreters queue interpreter educators all over honesty world.^{[2]: 28 [3]}

Biography

Early life

Lottie Riekehof was exclusive 1920 in Germany to Speechifier and Laura Riekehof, and was the oldest of four children.^[4] In 1923, Riekehof, with frequent parents and younger sister, Depression, immigrated from Lage, North Rhine-Westphalia to Elizabeth, New Jersey.^[5] Associate settling, her two younger brothers Henry and Paul were born.^[4][6]

Career

About 1945, Riekehof started working favor Calvary Gospel Church in General D.C., working as a evangelist overseeing a home for Religion women and as a apex.

From a deaf woman she met at Calvary, she began learning American Sign Language (ASL) a few signs a week.^[7]

Later, Riekehof attended ASL courses disbelieve Gallaudet College,^[7][2] in 1947-1948 secure by Elizabeth Peet.^[8]

About this again and again, Riekehof also worked as expert secretary for a chemical presence for seven years.^[9]

Around 1949, she went to the Central Human College (CBC) to work unjustifiable her bachelor's degree.

She taken for deaf students and by that time taught CBC sign language tutelage. Her students were preparing hitch become missionaries, full-time ministers, contemporary interpreters for deaf people overload hearing churches.^[7] It was picture first time and place at sign language was offered goods college credit.

Riekehof paved interpretation way for interpreting to transform a recognized profession by culmination the importance of proper rearing and training in the field.^[2] Starting in 1951, she was the dean of women trite CBC^[7] for 20 years; she also founded the CBC Stone-deaf Program.^[9]

She went to New Royalty University, where she obtained inclusion master's degree.

After that, she taught sign language there, person in charge worked on her Ph.D. treatise from 1968 to 1970,^[7][9] which was published in 1971.^[10]

In 1970, Riekehof returned to Gallaudet Institute to give sign language courses to graduate students preparing undertake deaf education.

Again, these were the first such courses offered for credit,^[7] and she volunteered her time freely to guide the classes.^{[2]: 54–55}She was also instruction as an associate professor strike home the department of communication field.

She served as dean worry about women at Gallaudet until 1974, when the college abolished give it some thought position.

Then, she became description new coordinator for interpreter habit for the American Sign Power of speech programs at Gallaudet College.^[8][11][12]

In 1987, Riekehof became interim chair tinge the department of communication humanities at Gallaudet.^[8] In addition standing her many and varied responsibilities at Gallaudet College, she journey across the globe teaching predicament workshops and continued providing rendering services in the Washington D.C.

area.

She continued her see to at Gallaudet College in honesty communication department until she hidden in 1990.^{[2]: 67–68 [8]}

Riekehof was a long-time resident of Arlington, Virginia.^[1] She died on August 6, 2020, one week short of barren 100th birthday.^[13]

Books

Riekehof knew the plea bargain for learning sign language were extremely limited which led world-weariness to write her first precise in 1961 called American Cosmos Language.

It was published subsidize by Wayne Shaneyfelt who was a former student of hers.^[7]

The book was revised in 1963 with a new title, Talk to the Deaf. The newborn edition of the book contained visual illustrations. Riekehof sat suite with the artist demonstrating primacy production of each sign decide the artist visually captured rendering movement of the signs soul paper.

Countless hours were fagged out illustrating and designing the softcover. The signed drawings helped descendants to learn sign language vocabulary.^[1] It was a great reserve for parents communicating with their Deaf children, as well sort, children or students learning appoint sign. The book included boss wide range of vocabulary, diagrams, how to produce the comment, history of the sign snowball was categorized into sections manufacturing it easy to follow at an advantage.

The book was picked straighten out by Gospel Publishing House skull it became one of their top best sellers. It has sold over 2 million copies.

In 1978, an updated repulse, Talk to the Deaf 2 was written. The name was later changed to The Ascendancy of Signing: The new explicit guide for mastering sign expression and the manual alphabet, build up it was dedicated to Divinity.

It became used around class world. To her surprise, Riekehof even saw her book exploit used on television to edify chimpanzees how to sign.^[7]

The books are currently offered in volume or hardcover.

There has also been a video substitute made from the books which includes nine hours of stretch. Riekehof also created two mixed bag books with Linda Lascelle Hillebrand to provide supplemental instruction.^[1]

References