I was very saddened to learn over the weekend about the passing of yet another amazing woman, Deborah Peters Goessling, who died on October 11, 2010. I had the pleasure to work with Debbie many years ago at the New England Center for Deaf/Blind Services, located at Perkins School for the Blind. Debbie later went on to be a professor of education at Providence College, Providence, RI, where she taught up until one week prior to her death.
Debbie was diagnosed with ALS in 2008, but continued to adapt and adjust as her body deteriorated, courageously and admirably overcoming so many challenges. After learning about her death, I went online to find a little more information. If you Google Debbie’s name, you will see her come up quite frequently, since she was a very dedicated professor at Providence College for the last fifteen years and has a long list of accomplishments and credentials in the field of Special Education.
To really get a feel of how incredible this woman was, I invite you to visit her blog site, This ALS Life, which she started shortly after she was diagnosed with ALS. I regret that I did not know she had this blog site, until after the fact. I have since read every post she wrote, with awe at her courage, strength and determination.
Debbie was also featured on Boston’s Channel 5 news in August of 2009: ALS Patient Turns To MDA For Help – Health News Story – WCVB Boston
I attended the wake for Debbie yesterday, and as I would only expect, the line of people paying their respects was out the door. She was blessed with many friends and a very loving family including her husband Dan, and three sons, Sam, Joe and Tim Goessling.
