Charlene DeLoach's Obituary
Charlene Poch DeLoach, of Farmington Hills, MI, died on January 15, 2014 at Botsford Hospital. She was born in Wausau, WI in 1935 to Charles and Agnes Poch. At the age of 17, she contracted polio during the epidemic of 1952, which limited her mobility, but not her spirit. From 1953 to 1959, she was denied the services of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation due to the severity of her disability and her gender (her DVR counselor believed that “college was a waste of time for women”). Finally, while attending a physical rehabilitation program in Warm Springs, GA, she met a psychologist who saw her potential and advocated for her to begin college studies. Starting with one English composition correspondence course, Charlene quickly demonstrated her academic ability, and after completing several more courses, she transferred to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in 1962. There, she earned her B.S. in medical journalism, her master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling, and her doctorate in counseling psychology. She met and married William “Bill” DeLoach, a fellow graduate student, and a fellow wheelchair user, following a diving accident in which he broke his neck in 1967. After receiving her Ph.D. in 1971, Dr. DeLoach worked as a counseling psychologist for the VA Hospital in Memphis, TN, providing services to patients with spinal cord injuries. In 1974, she joined the faculty of the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation at Memphis State University now the University of Memphis, where her husband Bill taught in the English Department. Dr. De Loach continued teaching there for almost 25 years. She was a lifelong disability rights advocate, and authored two books and several articles about the effects of physical disability, disability rights and accessibility issues, and independent living. She and her husband Bill lived independently in their own house in Memphis, surrounded by Charlene’s beautiful flower garden, Bill’s ever-growing collection of books, and the couple’s dearly-loved dogs. Charlene was a delegate to the 1977 White House Conference on Handicapped Individuals, and later won an award as “Researcher of the Year” from the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association. She and Bill were members of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Memphis. In February 2007, Charlene and Bill were transferred to Farmington Health Care Center (now White Pine Rehabilitation and Nursing Center) in Farmington Hill, MI, due to their specialized health care needs, and Bill died there on April 24, 2007. Charlene was also preceded in death by her parents; her sister Jacquelin Dolloff; her nephew, David Dolloff; her father and mother-in-law Rosemary and Duane DeLoach of Midland, MI. Charlene is survived by her niece, Doreen Eldred of Medford, WI; by her brother-in-law Vincent DeLoach (Martha Stephens) of Memphis, TN; Joseph DeLoach (Aida) of Traverse City, MI; Jean McLean of Marquette, MI; and Lu DeLoach, of Ann Arbor, MI; and by numerous nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews. A funeral/memorial service will take place in Memphis later in the spring; friends/colleagues may contact Vincent DeLoach ([email protected]) or Ryland Bruhwiler ([email protected]) for more information.
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