Mervin "Merv" Donald Garretson (July 25, 1923 January 9, 2013) was an American educator, leader, and deaf community rights advocate. His works were primarily directed towards changing mainstream opinion about

deaf culture Deaf culture is the set of social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values, and shared institutions of communities that are influenced by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as ...

and about the

deaf community Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

.Encyclopedia of American Disability History
. Retrieved 2020-02-12.

Early life and education

Garretson was born on July 25, 1923, in Sheridan,

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. He was his parents' ninth child. His father was a rancher and a general store proprietor alongside being a teacher. Garretson was the only deaf child of his parents among their ten offspring. He was not deaf by birth, instead he lost his hearing ability at the age of five after he was affected by

spinal meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasionally ...

. He received his early education from the Colorado School for the Deaf and his bachelor's degree from Gallaudet College, Washington D.C. in 1947. After that, he acquired his master's degree from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

in 1955.

Personal life

Garretson's first marriage with Audrey Watson Garretson with whom he had two daughters, Randee Garretson and Shelley Garretson, ended in divorce in 1953. After that, he was married for 57 years to Carol Jean Kaull Garretson with whom he had three daughters – Kyrie Garretson, Kaja Farnsworth, and Kelsi Oswald. At the time of his death Garretson had seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He lived in north central

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

during the last years of his life with his second wife, Carol. She was a retired professor of communications at Gallaudet University. She, like her husband, had become deaf at an early age. Carol died on November 28, 2012, in Summerfield, Florida. The cause of death was reported to be complications from diabetes. Garretson died on January 9, 2013 (aged 89 years), of complications of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at the Leesburg Regional Medical Center in Summerfield, Florida.

Professional life

Garretson began his teaching and administrative career after graduating from Gallaudet University in 1947. He taught at the

Maryland School for the Deaf The Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD) offers public education at no cost to deaf and hard-of-hearing Maryland residents between the ages of zero and 21. It has two campuses located in Frederick and Columbia, Maryland. History Prior to the op ...

from 1947 to 1949 and at Montana School for the Deaf from 1949 to 1962. Seven years after completing his master's degree, he joined as the associate professor of education at Gallaudet University in 1962. In 1967, he was appointed at the Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf as its first executive director. He returned to Gallaudet in 1970 to serve as the principal of the newly formed

Model Secondary School for the Deaf The Model Secondary School (MSSD) is a residential four-year high school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students located on the Gallaudet University campus in Washington, D.C. History Prior to 1970, Kendall School for the Deaf served students fr ...

. He was a member of the 1956 meeting, named Fulton Tontine, of the national leaders that mapped the structure of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and served as the junior national director of the association from 1960 until 1962. He also served on the board of directors of NAD from 1960 to 1967. He then held the secretary-treasurer, vice president, and president roles at NAD between 1974 and 1982. His credentials led him to serve as a member of the board of directors of the

World Federation of the Deaf The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) is an international non-governmental organization that acts as a peak body for World Federation of the Deaf#Constituency, national associations of Deaf people, with a focus on deaf people who use sign langua ...

(WFD). From 1971 to 1991, Garretson served as the international president of the Commission on Pedagogy; he was the first deaf person to hold this position.Hereditarian ideas and eugenic ideals at the National Deaf-Mute College
. Retrieved 2020-02-13 During his career, he also served as the coordinator of The Deaf Way, which was an international conference that celebrated the deaf culture worldwide. He also served as the interim executive director of the NAD from 1989 until 1990. Moreover, he was also a member of Gallaudet University's board of trustees between 1990 and 2000. Garretson authored books in both poetry and prose. His notable works include * Words from a Deaf Child and Other Verses (1984) * Perspectives on Deafness (A Deaf American Monograph, Vol. 41, Nos. 1 2) (1991) * Deafness: Life and Culture (1994) * My Yesterdays: In a Changing World of the Deaf (2010)

Contributions to the deaf community

Garretson played a vital role in highlighting issues regarding

deaf education Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and other ...

. He was a special assistant to four Gallaudet presidents to serve deaf education directives and worked to help

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...

gain academic recognition. His services to The Deaf Way conference also helped in shaping the deaf culture and setting the precedent for the emerging field of deaf studies. His efforts helped in increasing the employability of deaf teachers in deaf schools and promoting deaf leadership in both national and international educational organizations. In 1947, Garretson wrote ''"To You Who Do Not Understand"'', a piece that rejected the stereotype that people with deafness were somehow inferior to people who could hear. Through this, he argued that people with hearing disabilities are not ''"handicapped."'' This was an idea that was widely applauded and set the precedent for his struggles for the deaf community.

Awards and recognition

* International Solidarity Medal (1975) – World Federation of the Deaf * Powrie Vaux Doctor Medallion for International Service (1986) * Frederick C. Schreiber Distinguished Service Award (1988) – NAD * Honorary Doctor of Law degree in 1974 from Gallaudet College * Honorary doctorate in 1993 from the

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

PSAD Winter Newsletter
. Retrieved 2020-2-13. To honor his contributions to deaf education, Gallaudet University established the Mervin D. and Carol J. Garretson Scholarship Fund.A Tribute to Carol and Merv Garretson
. Retrieved 2020-02-13

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garretson, Mervin Donald 1923 births 2013 deaths People from Sheridan, Wyoming Educators of the deaf American educators Gallaudet University alumni University of Wyoming alumni