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The Gallaudet community is saddened to learn of the recent passing of three former employees: Ralph Fernandez, ’89, André Pellerin, ’82, and Jacqueline Mann, ’67 & G-’69. Some Gallaudet staff and faculty share their memories of these special colleagues.  

Ralph Fernandez, ’89 

Headshot of bald man in a black polo shirt
Ralph Fernandez (photo credit: Connor McLaren)

Fernandez, who passed away on January 4, 2025, joined Gallaudet as an employee in 1999. As a Database Analyst for The Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2) until 2023, Fernandez was “a centerpiece of its technical prowess,” says former VL2 Co-Principal Investigator, Director of the Early Education and Literacy Lab, and Program Director of the PhD in Educational Neuroscience Program, Dr. Thomas Allen.  

“His dedication and brilliance as a database and website developer had profound impacts, not only on the scientists at Gallaudet (and among our partner institutions) but also on the many schools and research labs throughout the nation that relied on the tools that he designed to further their research and educational goals,” says Allen.

As his supervisor, Allen worked closely with Fernandez on developing and refining a set of assessment and research tools. “He was a joy to work with. He created complex data-based web tools, worked with users, and spent hours providing documentation. He was always friendly and giving of his time. One of his most valued attributes was the way he provided help and advice to the team, and to many in the nation on a variety of technical issues,” he says.

Melissa Malzkuhn, 04 & G-’08, said, “Ralph was a brilliant colleague with incredible insights. His work continues to leave a lasting impact.” One of his most notable achievements was to create an online version of the Visual Communication and Sign Language Checklist (VCSL:O). This has become the most widely used assessment tool assessing ASL milestones for deaf children from birth to age 5, according to the VL2 team.

In addition to his significant contributions to Gallaudet, Fernandez is widely known as a competitive cyclist, an active organizer of the deaf sports movement on national and international levels, and a graphic designer. You can learn more about his life in his obituary, from this appreciation from the USA Deaf Sports Federation, and a Daily Moth segment.

André Pierre Pellerin ’82 

Photo of a bearded man with glasses on his eyes and a pair of sunglasses on his head. Behind him is a grassy hill and a lighthouse.
Andre Pellerin

Pellerin passed away on December 25, 2024. Early in his career, he was the Assistant Technical Director for the Gallaudet Theatre Department and later became the Technical Assistant to the Art Department’s ceramics program. He also installed exhibitions for the Linda K. Jordan Art Gallery before leaving Gallaudet in 2014 to become a studio artist at Red Dirt Studios in Mt. Rainier, Maryland. Pellerin loved this vibrant artistic community of which he was an integral member. 

Retired faculty member and close friend, Peggy Reichard, worked with Pellerin in the ceramics program from 1997 until 2008. She recalls, “Andre was constantly experimenting with all kinds of mediums – clay for wheel-thrown functional ware and slab building for tall vases and wall plaques, elegant brushwork for greeting cards and Christmas balls, macramé, weaving, mosaics, and collage.” The tree of life, birch trees, and gears as metaphors were common themes in his work, explains Reichard, who says he was planning a new series on eyes. 

Dozens of gears in different sizes are arranged in a shape that resembles a human eye.
This 2023 mixed media work, “Gearing Eye,” was featured on Pellerin’s Facebook page.

His artwork has been exhibited at the Linda K. Jordan Gallery, the Dyer Arts Center at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, and Red Dirt Studios.

Pellerin was featured in Raymond Luczak’s From Heart into Art: Interviews with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Artists and Their Allies. One of his pieces was selected for the cover photo of Luczak’s most recent book, I’ll Tell You Later: Deaf Survivors of Dinner Table Syndrome. Pellerin is one of the contributors to this book and the anthology is dedicated to him.

Director of the School of Civic Leadership, Business, and Social Change Emilia Chukwuma, ’85, says Pellerin will greatly be missed. She recalls when Pellerin used the Volunteer Income Tax Assistant (VITA) Service Center, run by business students and faculty. Chukwuma met with him twice a year for the past 15 years as a trusted advisor around his tax filings. Although Pellerin was not trained in the financial field, Chukwuma says, “I never met someone so intelligent with a sharp mind like him…If anything was contrary to his expectations, he would politely ask me to check my work again; in most cases, he was right. He was hardworking, friendly, very respectful, industrious, and independent as much as he could despite the odds. He continued to manage his art and pottery business and diligently attended art shows where he would sell his work.”

Reichard says, “Andre valued his friends. He had many loyal followers on Facebook, posting almost daily for years. He was a true role model for us all in living a fully engaged and productive life.”

Jacqueline Mann, 67 & G-69

Headshot of a woman with short curly hair and glasses. She is wearing a dark pink top.
Jacqueline “Jackie” Mann

Jackie Mann, who passed away on December 26, 2024, started her education career as a teacher at Kendall Demonstration School for the Deaf and later returned to Gallaudet to work in the Center of Continuing Studies (CSS), which later became the College of Professional Studies and Outreach (CPSO).

At Kendall, Mann worked in elementary and middle school departments. As the team leader in the middle school, she emphasized using signs with kids, recalls Dr. Madan Vasishta, ’71, G-’73, & PhD ’83, a teacher at Kendall at the time. “All four teachers were deaf, and this small group was using a bilingual approach; there was no such term at that time,” he says. Mann was also incredibly caring, he recalls. When Vasishta’s wife was brand new to the country, and they were expecting their first child in 1974, Mann threw them a baby shower.

Mann moved back to California, where she was born and raised, and led the ASL program at California State University, Sacramento before returning to Gallaudet’s CPSO a few years later. “She was the go-to person for almost all online and extension programs, and was well respected and well-liked by everyone,” says friend Stephen Weiner, ’78 & G-’80. Tammy Weiner, G-’82, faculty member and later Director of the CCS, says Mann was the Center’s “key person” for Gallaudet’s summer programs, which involved huge amounts of paperwork and conference planning. Colleagues say she managed these projects seemingly effortlessly. 

Janet Weinstock, 78 & G-81, former faculty and friend says, “I’m forever grateful to Jackie for her support to my professional growth. She sent me to multiple Deaf Education and Deaf studies conferences to provide presentations, trainings, and workshops. She was instrumental in setting up and coordinating the first few Deaf Studies conferences.” 

Her pride was setting up conferences in various parts of the country and publishing the workshop proceedings!” says friend Mary Lynn Lally, 66. Audrey Wineglass Foster, Program Coordinator at the time, loved working with the “incredibly organized and capable” Mann, knowing she would have the answers to any question Foster had. Foster adds that when she was a new signer, Mann “never made me feel unwelcome. For that, I’m very, very thankful.”

Brianne Burger, G-06, worked with Mann in the CPSO between 2006 and 2009. “Jackie was one of a kind. She was the glue that supported everyone in the office and kept us all together. She would make cupcakes and bring them in for various occasions, or just because. I will never forget one time a co-worker and I were teasing her about making cupcakes and sure enough, the next day she brought in cupcakes for us! Talk about a mouthful; instead of putting our feet in our mouths, we had cupcakes,” Burger recalls. 

An older man and woman sit on a low brick wall next to the Gallaudet University sign in the front of campus
Jackie Mann and her husband Willis, who passed away two years ago, were both proud members of the Class of ’67.

After Mann retired, she became an active member of the Maryland Deaf Senior Center (MDSC), working behind the scenes to support Weinstock as Secretary — and later, President — of the organization. Weinstock and Mann co-hosted an annual birthday celebration for deaf people who live in the DMV area for a couple of years. “Jackie just cares: for her family, for Gallaudet, and for all her work,” Weinstock says.

Mann and her husband Willis Mann, ’67, who passed away two years ago, raised two sons, Eric and Kris, and were especially proud of their grandson, Gavin. “Jackie was humble; she loved her husband and her children so much, but she never bragged about their accomplishments. Even though we all knew who they were and how much they had accomplished,” Burger says. “She was such a huge supporter to her husband, Willis, in his endeavors and constant advocacy for the state of Maryland to implement relay services, which my husband now operates, so we are eternally grateful to Jackie and Willis for all they’ve done for the deaf community of Maryland, California, and nationwide. Together, they were a power couple who opened doors and created opportunities for future generations like mine to seize.”

Lally adds, “Jackie will be missed by so many whose lives she has touched.”

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