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.
Keith Black
Sept. 16, 1928-April 3, 2020
Keith Black died at his home in Lakewood, Calif., on April 3, 2020. He was 91.
He was born Sept. 16, 1928 in Nampa, Idaho, to Daniel and Ruth Leone Black. His parents, both of whom were also blind, operated the first blind vending stand in the Idaho Capitol building. Keith himself was blind from birth. His parents always had high expectations for him.
In high school, Keith developed a life-long love of music, especially from the swing era, and played in various bands, including the Long Beach Senior Band, for many years. After completing public high school in Boise, he attended the University of Oregon, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree.
In the mid-1950s he moved to Denver, Colo., where he worked as a medical transcriber and met and married his wife, Joan. Later he earned a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Colorado.
In 1964 Keith was hired as a rehabilitation counselor for the blind by the newly formed California Department of Rehabilitation. He served as an RCB in San Bernardino and Long Beach over a period of 30 years, helping hundreds of clients achieve their educational and employment goals.
He was a long-time member of the California Council of the Blind and active for many years in the rehabilitation counseling affiliate of CCB and the Braille Revival League of California.
He was preceded in death by his wife Joan, and is survived by sons Ralph and Andrew Black, daughter Eileen Sagner, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Joseph “Joe” Fallin
Joseph Charles “Joe” Fallin, age 73, of Tulsa, Okla., went to be with the Lord on April 19, 2020 at St. Francis Hospital as a result of sepsis. He was born and raised in Tulsa and was a graduate of the Oklahoma School for the Blind in Muskogee. He went on to earn his bachelor's degree at Oklahoma State University and earned his law degree at Oklahoma University.
He practiced law for over 40 years and was a champion for disability rights. In recognition of his work, he was named Advocate of the Year for 2005 by the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services. He was a member of the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority Board for many years and he was president of the Oklahoma Council of the Blind for several terms. He was a member of Christ United Methodist Church and an active member of the Unity Sunday School class. He was an avid OU football and basketball fan, as well as a huge fan of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He is survived by his loving wife, Allison; his brother, Richard Fallin; niece, Ashley Brady (daughter, Fallin and son, Laker); nephew, Brooks Fallin (wife, Sarah Jane) and Pat Fallin, the mother of Ashley and Brooks. Although he had no children of his own, he loved and was loved by Allison’s daughters and their families, Hillary Torres (husband, Luis and children, Miquela and Micah) and Nancy Koke (husband, Mark and son Jacob). He is predeceased by his father, Richard Fallin, mother, Helene Fallin and stepfather Leo Gooch.
A private burial will be at Floral Haven Cemetery in Broken Arrow, OK. A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Joe’s name may be made to the Oklahoma Council of the Blind, PO Box 1476, Oklahoma City, OK 73101 or Jeri’s House, Inc., PO Box 14192, Tulsa, OK 74159.