Leslie Peterson, a 'great storyteller' turned ally for deaf-blind
Leslie Peterson of Minneapolis was a longtime advocate and role model for people like himself.
By
SARAH LEMAGIE, Star Tribune
Last update: July 2, 2010
Lifelong deafness and the gradual loss of his sight did not keep Leslie Peterson from a rich, independent life.
A past president of the Minnesota DeafBlind Association, Peterson, who died June 28, was a longtime advocate for that community, friends and relatives said.
Peterson often spoke to school and community groups, state officials and legislators. "He was a great storyteller," and he worked hard to secure funding for services to help people who were deaf and blind, said longtime friend and interpreter Nancy Evelyn.
Friends and relatives said he helped start a social club for people with deaf-blindness, as well as the association's annual Thanksgiving banquet, where last year he received a lifetime achievement award.
But "his greatest impact to people was simply being who he was, being a role model," said Paul Deeming, a services manager at DeafBlind Services Minnesota. "He is the most independent person who is deaf-blind that I know."
In the early 1980s, Peterson helped to successfully lobby state legislators to fund services for people who were both deaf and blind, said Sharon Plett, also a longtime interpreter.
Peterson, 67, of south Minneapolis, died of lung cancer, though he never smoked, said his daughter, Mitzi Uribe of Coon Rapids.
Peterson had a condition called Usher syndrome, a relatively rare genetic disorder characterized by deafness and gradual vision loss. He was born deaf and started losing his sight at age 14.
Though he was legally blind for decades, he retained some sight until two weeks before he died, his daughter said.
Peterson was born in Montana, the son of a pastor with a large family. After graduating from a school for the deaf, he attended a Bible college in Missouri.
He moved to Minnesota, initially to be near a sister in St. Cloud. He met his future wife, Patti, "on a blind date," Uribe said, laughing.
When they were courting, Peterson used to take the bus to Patti's parents' house in Robbinsdale and walk the last few blocks to their door, which "used to make her family nervous," Uribe said.
Peterson worked as a draftsman for several years -- a job that he loved, but which he eventually had to leave as his eyesight worsened, his daughter said.
"He was really at a point in his life where he had decided to take life by the horns and start preparing himself for being deaf and blind," learning to use a cane and read Braille, she said.
Peterson remained bold his entire life, though he knew the risks, his daughter said. "A lot of times, he would be on a bus and the bus driver would forget to tap him on the shoulder, and he would be completely lost in the community somewhere," she said.
He did his own banking, could install doors and build walls, and even tore down an old garage a few years ago.
"It look him two weeks, and he got lots of cuts and bruises, but he gained lots of muscle tone and he loved it," Uribe said.
He created his own communication system, a flip chart with various messages in large-print and Braille that he used to take the bus and get around in public, Deeming said. Dissatisfied with storebought canes for blind people, Peterson made his own, attaching a pizza cutter to the end so it would roll over sidewalk cracks.
An avid chess player, Peterson would play anyone, Deeming said. "I only saw one person, one time, who ever beat him," he said. Once, Deeming said, Peterson was the only person who showed up to a club meeting at DeafBlind Services Minnesota. Lacking a chess partner, he taught a staffer how to play -- wordlessly.
Peterson is survived by his wife and two children, along with many other relatives. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Billman-Hunt Chapel, 2701 Central Av. NE. in Minneapolis, with a gathering one hour before the service.
Sarah Lemagie • 952-882-9016
