Mervin D. Garretson

Mervin "Merv" Donald Garretson (July 25, 1923 January 9, 2013 ) was an American educator, leader, and deaf community rights advocate. His works were primarily directed towards changing mainstream opinion about deaf culture and about the deaf community.

Early life and education Garretson was born on July 25, 1923, in Sheridan, Wyoming. He was his parents' ninth child. His father was a rancher and a general store proprietor alongside being a teacher. Garretson was the only deaf child of his parents among their ten offspring. He was not deaf by birth, instead he lost his hearing ability at the age of five after he was affected by spinal meningitis. After that, he was married for 57 years to Carol Jean Kaull Garretson with whom he had three daughters – Kyrie Garretson, Kaja Farnsworth, and Kelsi Oswald. At the time of his death Garretson had seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was a retired professor of communications at Gallaudet University. She, like her husband, had become deaf at an early age. Carol died on November 28, 2012, in Summerfield, Florida. The cause of death was reported to be complications from diabetes.

In 1967, he was appointed at the Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf as its first executive director. He returned to Gallaudet in 1970 to serve as the principal of the newly formed Model Secondary School for the Deaf.

During his career, he also served as the coordinator of The Deaf Way, which was an international conference that celebrated the deaf culture worldwide. He also served as the interim executive director of the NAD from 1989 until 1990. Moreover, he was also a member of Gallaudet University's board of trustees between 1990 and 2000.

Words from a Deaf Child and Other Verses (1984) Perspectives on Deafness (A Deaf American Monograph, Vol. 41, Nos. 1 2) (1991) Deafness: Life and Culture (1994) My Yesterdays: In a Changing World of the Deaf (2010)

Contributions to the deaf community Garretson played a vital role in highlighting issues regarding deaf education. He was a special assistant to four Gallaudet presidents to serve deaf education directives and worked to help American Sign Language gain academic recognition. His services to The Deaf Way conference also helped in shaping the deaf culture and setting the precedent for the emerging field of deaf studies. His efforts helped in increasing the employability of deaf teachers in deaf schools and promoting deaf leadership in both national and international educational organizations.

In 1947, Garretson wrote "To You Who Do Not Understand", a piece that rejected the stereotype that people with deafness were somehow inferior to people who could hear. Through this, he argued that people with hearing disabilities are not "handicapped." This was an idea that was widely applauded and set the precedent for his struggles for the deaf community.

Awards and recognition International Solidarity Medal (1975) – World Federation of the Deaf

To honor his contributions to deaf education, Gallaudet University established the Mervin D. and Carol J. Garretson Scholarship Fund.