We honor here members, friends and supporters of the American Council of the Blind who have impacted our lives in many wonderful ways. If you would like to submit a notice for this column, please include as much of the following information as possible.
Name (first, last, maiden if appropriate)
City of residence (upon passing)
State/province of residence (upon passing)
Other cities/states/countries of residence (places where other blind people may have known this person)
Occupation
Date of death (day if known, month, year)
Age
ACB affiliation (local/state/special-interest affiliates or national committees)
Deaths that occurred more than six months ago cannot be reported in this column.
Hattie Johnson Bond
Hattie Bond was born March 6, 1937 in Brownsville, Tenn., the eldest of five children. She died in Nashville, Tenn. on June 23, 2012, at the age of 75. Her funeral took place at the Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville on June 27th. She served on many church committees and was a member of the choir, taught Sunday school and was also a deaconess. Living relatives include her daughter, Delois Bond of Nashville; her mother, Nettie Matthews of Detroit; her sister, Shirley Lovelace of Detroit, and several others. She was preceded in death by her husband Albert, who died last year. They were married for 58 years.
Hattie received a bachelor of science and a master of arts from Tennessee State University and worked as a librarian in the Nashville public school system until she lost most of her vision due to complications of diabetes in the early '80s.
Hattie was active in many organizations including the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, the Middle Tennessee Council of the Blind and the Tennessee Council of the Blind, and the Eclipse Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. After the loss of her vision she became the director of Second Sight, a support group for people who became visually impaired later in life. She served as a member of the Access Ride Policy and Advisory Committee. In addition, she served as a member of the Mayor's Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities. In addition, she served on the board of the Center for Independent Living of Tennessee. Many of you know Hattie for her many years of service to the multicultural affairs committee.
Hattie received numerous awards from several organizations that she served. She is a past president of the Tennessee Council of the Blind and a board member of MTCB for many years.
However, this impressive list does not describe my friend Hattie, whom I have known for over 20 years. Hattie was always elegant, quiet and modest. She was kind and generous with her time and her money. She often gave money to people who were in need, but did it quietly so that very few people knew about it. She was an effective leader and could be counted on to carry out her responsibilities. If she saw something that needed to be done, she just did it without being asked. She was a wonderful cook and often provided meals for board meetings. There were many times that she advised me when I asked her how to solve minor problems on committees. She was very supportive during hard times, a good listener, and I knew that I could tell her anything in confidence. She will be missed by many friends and the members of several organizations, and it will probably take two people to do the work she did.
- Carol Francisco
Dennis Mejia
Dennis Mejia, 78, of Highland, Ill. died May 30 at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Belleville. There were no services. Meridith Funeral Home of Highland was in charge of arrangements.
Dennis was born Aug. 26, 1933, to Benjamin and Gertrude (Deck) Mejia in Franklin, Ohio. He retired after 32 years of service with business enterprise programs for the blind and served on numerous boards and committees. Most recently, for the last 17 years, he served on the Silver Lake Rest Area Vending Services as a manager and service provider.
Dennis was an avid Chicago Cubs baseball fan. He was also a ham radio operator from the age of 13. He loved Big Band music, and hosted two radio shows devoted to it, the first at WONC at North Central College, the second at WGSB in St. Charles/Geneva, Ill.
He is survived by a son, Paul (Cathy) Mejia of Naperville, and a granddaughter, Michelle. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Marie (Kellier) Mejia; and a brother, James. Memorials may be made to American Council of the Blind, 2200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 650, Arlington, VA 22201, or to the Courage Center Handiham System, 3915 Golden Valley Rd., Golden Valley, MN 55422.