[NFB-Greeley] FW: [Colorado-Talk] Obituary for Doris Willoughby & Zoom Link

Fri Sep 17 23:40:10 UTC 2021

Sincerely,
Melissa R Green and Pj

-----Original Message-----
From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Dan
Burke via Colorado-Talk
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2021 8:58 PM
To: NFB of Colorado Discussion List <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Dan Burke <burke.dall at gmail.com>
Subject: [Colorado-Talk] Obituary for Doris Willoughby & Zoom Link

Greetings -

This obituary appeared in the Denver Post this week, and the Zoom inof was
borrowed from another list.

Willoughby, Doris June 29, 1936 - September 8, 2021

Doris Mellott Koerner Willoughby was born on June 29, 1936, in Easton, PA,
and died on September 8, 2021, in Lakewood, CO. She moved to Boulder, CO,
with her family when she was 11 and graduated from Boulder High School as
class valedictorian in 1953.

She earned a bachelor's degree in education from Grinnell College in
Grinnell, IA, in 1957 and taught second grade in Cedar Rapids for 11 years.
She met her husband D. Curtis Willoughby in 1966. They were married on June
24, 1967, in Cedar Rapids, IA, and honeymooned in Clear Lake, IA, Los
Angeles, and Hawaii. The event in Los Angeles was the national convention
of the National Federation of the Blind, the first of over fifty NFB
conventions for Doris. From the time they met, Doris became a driver and
reader assistant for Curtis. Since he was an electrical engineer, perhaps
the first blind electrical engineer in the country, and most of the
material he wanted to read was technical, Doris's assistance was extremely
valuable. During the school year 1966/7, Judy Young, a young blind woman,
was seeking a degree in elementary education from the State University of
Iowa, but the University had difficulty finding a place for her to do her
student teaching. Doris volunteered to be the supervising teacher and
enjoyed the opportunity to work with Judy. Together they found techniques
to make Judy an excellent teacher. Doris received her certification in the
teaching of blind children in 1969 after studying during the summers and
evenings and then began teaching blind children. The Willoughbys moved to
Des Moines in 1972, and Doris taught blind children there until 1993.
Curtis was often asked to work on electrical and telephone equipment at the
Iowa Commission for the Blind, and Doris often assisted. Shortly after they
were married, she said with a smile, "I married an electric wire. In 1990,
she received her ham radio operator's license. Her husband, mother and
sisters have all been hams. Doris continued to work with Curtis on many
projects for nearly 30 years. Doris was an active member of the United
Methodist Church and invited Curtis to join. They continued in this
denomination in Des Moines and in Colorado. The Willoughbys moved to the
Denver area in 1993, and Doris received a master's degree from the
University of Northern Colorado soon after that. Doris taught blind
children in the Adams 12 School District near Denver. She later taught
blind adults at the Colorado Training Center for the Blind, where she
helped students prepare for citizenship and the GED test, among other
things. Doris was a pioneer and leader in the education of blind children
for at least 4 decades and wrote or co-authored 4 books on that subject. At
its 50th anniversary convention, the National Federation of the Blind
honored Doris with its highest award in
education: the Distinguished Teacher of Blind Children Award. Doris was
soft-spoken, kind, generous, creative, and hardworking. She was preceded in
death by her parents Margaret and Harold Koerner. She is survived by her
husband and her sisters (Margery Herrington of Pueblo, CO, and Marian Lord
of Omaha, NE). There are 6 nephews and nieces and
9 great nephews and nieces. Doris was an important part of the Willoughby
and Koerner families, her church congregations, the NFB, and her
communities and will be missed by all. A celebration of Doris's life will
occur at 1:00 pm on Sept. 18, 2021, at the Wheat Ridge United Methodist
Church in Wheat Ridge, CO. Memorial donations may be made to the National
Federation of the Blind or the Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church. .

Zoom info for Doris's service on Saturday

 WheatRidge UMC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

 Topic: Doris Willoughby Service
 Time: Sep 18, 2021 12:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)  Service begins:
Sep 18, 2021 1:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

 Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87027962218?pwd=3DOG5IYmpGQ1J0aUxVUTF5dDhkNWs4dz0
9

 Meeting ID: 870 2796 2218
 Passcode: 582683
 One tap mobile
 +16699006833,,87027962218#,,,,*582683# US (San Jose)
+12532158782,,87027962218#,,,,*582683# US (Tacoma)

 Dial by your location
 +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
 +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
 +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
 +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
 +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
 +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 720 707 2699 US (Denver)
 Meeting ID: 870 2796 2218

--
Dan Burke

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Legislative Co-chair

President, NFB of Denver

"Blindness is not what holds you back.  You can live the life you want!"

My Cell:  406.546.8546
Twitter:  @DallDonal

_______________________________________________
Colorado-Talk mailing list
Colorado-Talk at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/colorado-talk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Colorado-Talk:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/colorado-talk_nfbnet.org/graduate56%40jun
o.com
List archives can be found at
<http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/colorado-talk_nfbnet.org>