Fw: [advocacy] Passing of Otis Stephens
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james kracht
Dec 2, 2016, 11:34:03 AM12/2/16
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----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Eric Bridges via advocacy <advo...@acblists.org>
To: "leade...@acblists.org" <leade...@acblists.org>
Date: Friday, December 2, 2016 10:21 am
Subject: [advocacy] Passing of Otis Stephens
>
>
> Former ACB president Otis Stephens passed away around 10 p.m. last night. His presidency (1987-1989) was characterized by optimism, intelligence and compassion. He presided over a return from the economic doldrums to greater stability, with services and staff restored.
>
> Born in 1936, he was educated in Atlanta’s schools in a special class for blind students. He graduated from the Georgia Academy for the Blind, then earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees in political science at the University of Georgia before going on to a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University. He then began teaching at Georgia Southern College. In 1975-76 he was a liberal arts fellow in law and political science at Harvard. After that year, he moved south to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he served as a professor of political science, associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, and then professor and resident scholar of constitutional law in the College of Law. His transition to the Law School faculty in 2000 was facilitated by the fact that he had completed the J.D. degree at the University of Tennessee in 1983.
>
> Otis was preceded in death by his second wife, Linda, in 1988. His sister, Ann Sims, and his daughters are working on arrangements for a memorial service in Knoxville. Details will be shared as soon as they become available.
>
> Eric
> Eric Bridges
> Executive Director
> American Council of the Blind
> 1703 N Beauregard Street, Suite 420
> Alexandria, VA 22311
> (T) 202-467-5081
> Learn more about us at www.acb.org
> Follow us on Twitter at @acbnational
> Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AmericanCounciloftheBlindOfficial
> View our YouTube page at http://tinyurl.com/gloz7bq
>
>
>
james kracht
Dec 2, 2016, 12:20:29 PM12/2/16
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----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Mitch Pomerantz via leadership <leade...@acblists.org>
To: leade...@acblists.org,bo...@acblists.org
Date: Friday, December 2, 2016 12:18 pm
Subject: Re: [leadership] Passing of Otis Stephens
>
>
> Colleagues:
>
> Dr. Otis Stephens was one of my early mentors when I became part of the American Council of the Blind. As a Political Science major and political junkie – not to mention law school drop-out – I enjoyed many discussions with Otis both at national conventions and by phone on constitutional and political issues over many years. For those who don’t know, Dr. Stephens was a constitutional law scholar of some repute. In 2008 or ’09, he invited me to be a guest lecturer for one of his Constitutional Law seminars at the University of Tennessee to speak about the Americans with Disabilities Act and the advocacy work carried out on behalf of blind persons by ACB. A Yiddish word sums up the man who was Otis Stephens: he was a “mensch,” a gentleman. We have lost one of the pillars of this organization. I am truly saddened by his passing and ACB will be a poorer organization without Dr. Otis Stephens.
>
>
> Mitch Pomerantz
james kracht
Dec 2, 2016, 12:36:28 PM12/2/16
to aa...@googlegroups.com
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Penny Reeder via leadership <leade...@acblists.org>
To: leadership <leade...@acblists.org>
Date: Friday, December 2, 2016 12:32 pm
Subject: Re: [leadership] Passing of Otis Stephens
>
>
> brilliant, compassionate, and engaging person. There are too few
> people like Otis in our world and our time, and we can all consider
> ourselves very fortunate to have known him, worked with him, or been
> lucky enough to share any time at all with him. Rest in peace, Otis.
> Sincerely,
> Penny
>
> On 12/2/16, Mitch Pomerantz via leadership <leade...@acblists.org> wrote:
> > Colleagues:
> >
> >
> >
> > Dr. Otis Stephens was one of my early mentors when I became part of the
> > American Council of the Blind. As a Political Science major and political
> > junkie - not to mention law school drop-out - I enjoyed many discussions
> On 12/2/16, Mitch Pomerantz via leadership <leade...@acblists.org> wrote:
> > Colleagues:
> >
> >
> >
> > Dr. Otis Stephens was one of my early mentors when I became part of the
> > American Council of the Blind. As a Political Science major and political
> > with Otis both at national conventions and by phone on constitutional and
> > political issues over many years. For those who don't know, Dr. Stephens
> > was
> > a constitutional law scholar of some repute. In 2008 or '09, he invited me
> > to be a guest lecturer for one of his Constitutional Law seminars at the
> > University of Tennessee to speak about the Americans with Disabilities Act
> > and the advocacy work carried out on behalf of blind persons by ACB. A
> > Yiddish word sums up the man who was Otis Stephens: he was a "mensch," a
> > gentleman. We have lost one of the pillars of this organization. I am truly
> > saddened by his passing and ACB will be a poorer organization without Dr.
> > Otis Stephens.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Mitch Pomerantz
> >
> >
> >
> > _____
> > political issues over many years. For those who don't know, Dr. Stephens
> > was
> > a constitutional law scholar of some repute. In 2008 or '09, he invited me
> > to be a guest lecturer for one of his Constitutional Law seminars at the
> > University of Tennessee to speak about the Americans with Disabilities Act
> > and the advocacy work carried out on behalf of blind persons by ACB. A
> > Yiddish word sums up the man who was Otis Stephens: he was a "mensch," a
> > gentleman. We have lost one of the pillars of this organization. I am truly
> > saddened by his passing and ACB will be a poorer organization without Dr.
> > Otis Stephens.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Mitch Pomerantz
> >
> >
> >
> > EhwZjQwbWRXcmdNVTVVQ0UyeFVvIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxL
> > FwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwOlxcXC9cXFwvd3d3LmFjYi5vcmdcXFwvXCIsXCJpZFwiOlwiMmUwYTNiN
> > TAwMTUxNDZmZDgzZTI0YjRmMDJkMjVkZjhcIixcInVybF9pZHNcIjpbXCJlZWExMjZhZWNjYjIxN
> > GI0NmM4NDdmMDdjMjNhNGE2M2Q4ZThkYTRkXCJdfSJ9> www.acb.org
> >
> > Follow us on Twitter at @acbnational
> >
> > Like us on Facebook at
> > <http://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/www.facebook.com?p=eyJzIjoia0tI
> > Follow us on Twitter at @acbnational
> >
> > Like us on Facebook at
> > S0VJX253N20yMjFhMVhQRVF2TGh2SVF3IiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZc
> > IjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwOlxcXC9cXFwvd3d3LmZhY2Vib29rLmNvbVxcXC9BbWVyaWNhbkNv
> > dW5jaWxvZnRoZUJsaW5kT2ZmaWNpYWxcIixcImlkXCI6XCIyZTBhM2I1MDAxNTE0NmZkODNlMjRi
> > NGYwMmQyNWRmOFwiLFwidXJsX2lkc1wiOltcIjBmZjE0YzZkZDIyNzY4MzY0ZmI5MWZmOWRlZTcw
> > MDczN2I2MjE0MDhcIl19In0> www.facebook.com/AmericanCounciloftheBlindOfficial
> >
> > View our YouTube page at
> > <http://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/tinyurl.com?p=eyJzIjoiUXhaN1JZe
> > View our YouTube page at
> > VBpU3B0ajJVNndYTTR5X215cUFRIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxL
> > FwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwOlxcXC9cXFwvdGlueXVybC5jb21cXFwvZ2xvejdicVwiLFwiaWRcIjpcI
> > jJlMGEzYjUwMDE1MTQ2ZmQ4M2UyNGI0ZjAyZDI1ZGY4XCIsXCJ1cmxfaWRzXCI6W1wiMTk3ZTM2N
> > WRkN2IwYzYwZjBhYmQwYzZkZTgwNmExMTVkMjk2YzgyM1wiXX0ifQ>
> > http://tinyurl.com/gloz7bq
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > <http://mandrillapp.com/track/open.php?u=30489975&id=2e0a3b50015146fd83e24b4
> > f02d25df8>
> >
> >
> >
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james kracht
Dec 2, 2016, 12:59:50 PM12/2/16
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----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Christopher Gray via leadership <leade...@acblists.org>
To: Eric Bridges <ebri...@acb.org>
Date: Friday, December 2, 2016 12:50 pm
Subject: Re: [leadership] Passing of Otis Stephens
>
>
>
> Thank you for that excellent summation of Otis' life. Just a few amendments:
> Linda was Otis' first wife and they were childhood sweethearts since the age of
> 5 or 6. A few years after Linda's passing, Otis married Mary Ballard, former
> editor of the Braille Forum. She passed away around 2010, and I don't think
> Otis really ever recovered from that. It is also notable that Otis, along with
> another colleague, wrote a college level textbook on Constitutional law that saw
> several editions published over a period of years.
>
> Otis was as friendly and personable as he was intelligent. He cared a lot about
> people, and it showed. I met him at my first ACB convention in 1976 as the only
> representative of the Washington Council of the Blind. He took the time that
> week to meet up with me and discuss a candidate for whom he was providing
> support, Delbert Aman from South Dakota. I tas not only flattered to be
> lobbied, but deeply impressed to meet a blind person of such scholarly and
> personable abilities.
>
> Otis was certainly my role model for managing meetings and I often asked myself
> when presiding at ACB conventions: "How might Otis handle this or that
> situation"?
> He was a true master when presiding over a meeting.
>
> Thank you Otis for the many contributions you made, tangible and intangible, to
> the blindness community.
>
> Chris
>
>
> On Fri, 2 Dec 2016, Eric Bridges via leadership wrote:
>
> > Former ACB president Otis Stephens passed away around 10 p.m. last night. His presidency (1987-1989) was characterized by optimism, intelligence and compassion. He presided over a return from the economic doldrums to greater stability, with services and staff restored.
> >
> > Born in 1936, he was educated in Atlanta's schools in a special class for blind students. He graduated from the Georgia Academy for the Blind, then earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees in political science at the University of Georgia before going on to a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University. He then began teaching at Georgia Southern College. In 1975-76 he was a liberal arts fellow in law and political science at Harvard. After that year, he moved south to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he served as a professor of political science, associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, and then professor and resident scholar of constitutional law in the College of Law. His transition to the Law School faculty in 2000 was facilitated by the fact that he had completed the J.D. degree at the University of Tennessee in 1983.
> >
> > Otis was preceded in death by his second wife, Linda, in 1988. His sister, Ann Sims, and his daughters are working on arrangements for a memorial service in Knoxville. Details will be shared as soon as they become available..
>
> On Fri, 2 Dec 2016, Eric Bridges via leadership wrote:
>
> > Former ACB president Otis Stephens passed away around 10 p.m. last night. His presidency (1987-1989) was characterized by optimism, intelligence and compassion. He presided over a return from the economic doldrums to greater stability, with services and staff restored.
> >
> > Born in 1936, he was educated in Atlanta's schools in a special class for blind students. He graduated from the Georgia Academy for the Blind, then earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees in political science at the University of Georgia before going on to a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University. He then began teaching at Georgia Southern College. In 1975-76 he was a liberal arts fellow in law and political science at Harvard. After that year, he moved south to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he served as a professor of political science, associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, and then professor and resident scholar of constitutional law in the College of Law. His transition to the Law School faculty in 2000 was facilitated by the fact that he had completed the J.D. degree at the University of Tennessee in 1983.
> >
> >
> > Eric
> > Eric Bridges
> > Executive Director
> > American Council of the Blind
> > 1703 N Beauregard Street, Suite 420
> > Alexandria, VA 22311
> > (T) 202-467-5081
> > Learn more about us at www.acb.org<http://www.acb.org/>
> > Eric
> > Eric Bridges
> > Executive Director
> > American Council of the Blind
> > 1703 N Beauregard Street, Suite 420
> > Alexandria, VA 22311
> > (T) 202-467-5081
> > Follow us on Twitter at @acbnational
> > Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AmericanCounciloftheBlindOfficial<http://www.facebook.com/AmericanCounciloftheBlindOfficial>
> > View our YouTube page at http://tinyurl.com/gloz7bq
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> ----------------------------------------
> Christopher Gray, Executive Director
> Missouri Council of the Blind
>
> 5453 Chippewa
> St. Louis, MO 63109
> Phone: (314) 832-7172
> Toll-free: (800) 342-5632
> Fax: (314) 832-7796
>
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james kracht
Dec 2, 2016, 3:42:47 PM12/2/16
to aa...@googlegroups.com
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Mark Richert via leadership <leade...@acblists.org>
To: Christopher Gray <ch...@moblind.org>,Eric Bridges <ebri...@acb.org>
Date: Friday, December 2, 2016 3:26 pm
Subject: Re: [leadership] Passing of Otis Stephens
>
>
> that time that one of the things I should really do at convention was
> go and hear Otis Stephens do his annual Supreme Court update at the
> blind lawyers meetings. Being just a couple years out of law school
> at that point, I remember thinking to myself during that first update
> that I attended, wow, what an incredible gift this guy has at
> explaining very complex things in ways that are clear and concise,
> not always very lawyerly traits as we know (smile). Over the years, I
> attended those excellent presentations whenever I could, and I always
> learned a lot from them and often heard analysis of the cases that
> seemingly nobody else had caught onto...and that makes sense because
> not that many in the disability world were/are reading decisions for
> each and every one of their possible implications for folks with
> vision loss as well as all folks with disabilities, etc. What a
> tremendous leader for our community and our organization; God bless his memory.
>
> Mark
james kracht
Dec 2, 2016, 9:19:19 PM12/2/16
to aa...@googlegroups.com
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Roger D. Petersen via leadership <leade...@acblists.org>
To: Mark Richert <4jus...@concentric.net>,Christopher Gray <ch...@moblind.org>,Eric Bridges <ebri...@acb.org>
Date: Friday, December 2, 2016 4:50 pm
Subject: Re: [leadership] Passing of Otis Stephens
>
>
>
> Bernice met Otis in Mobile in 1975 where he was very supportive to the new National Aliance of Blind Students. I got to know him when he asked me to serve as parliamentarian when he presided. I think he was very tolerant of my limitations as a parliamentarian. That was when I met Governor Clinton in 1988 in Little Rock. I credit that to Otis, because I got a handshake because I was on the platform as parliamentarian.
>
> Otis always made a point of greeting Bernice and me and spending a little time with us at each convention. One thing that has not been mentioned is Otis's service as chair of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee, where he presided over a lot of cleaning up of the governance documents.
>
> Roger Petersen
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