Hide Article Text (OCR)
I REMEMBRANCES• • * .*r *;v.VDR. CIWA GRIFFITHSDr. Ciwa (pronounced Thee-wu) Griffiths, 92, formerly of 4006-3B Calle Sonora, beloved past president of the Leisure World Writers Club, LeisureWorlder of the Month in July 1993 and founder of the HEAR Center in Pasadena in 1954, died on Dec. 3, 2003.Dr. Griffiths notified her close friends of her death by preparing letters with stamped, addressed envelopes to be mailed by her niece Judy from Pasadena after her death. She writes, “This letter contains good news and bad news. The good news is that you will never have to answer this letter; the bad news is that you are reading this because I have died.”Author of “Conquering Childhood Deafness” published in 1964 and two autobiographies - “HEAR, A Four Letter Word” in 1991 and “One Out of Ten” in 1993 - plus three books of poetry, Ciwa was bom in Fiji, the ninth child of Englishman Arthur George Griffiths and Texan Jennie Scott Wilson (“Ciwa” means ninth in Fijian). Her father was owner and publisher of “The Fiji Times” - the first newspaper in the South Seas.With a hard-won Ph.D. in Education from USC, Ciwa devoted her life to deaf children. Cheryl Walker, staff writer of “The Leisure World News”, published an inspiring profile of Ciwa on Feb. 15, 1990, topped with this headline: “She Heard the Cry to Help Children Speak”.Without the insight and single-minded dedication of Dr. Ciwa Griffiths, thousands of present-day deaf adults who speak normally and live productive lives in the hearing world would have been consigned to a deaf culture, stuck in menial jobs, isolated from the rest of society.“The host of speaking deaf persons throughout the world today are living testimony to Ciwa Griffiths courage and determination”, said Joseph L. Stewart, a director in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Ciwa is survived by dozens of nieces and nephews and loved by every one whose life she touched.In her farewell letter, Ciwa proclaims, “There will be no funeral. I am to be cremated and will not take up anyone’s time to say good-bye. If you want to do something in memory, please give to the HEAR Center, 301 East Del Mar Boulevard, Pasadena, 91101.
Newspaper Details
Leisure World News
Laguna Hills, California, US
Thu, Jan 08, 2004
Page 67
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 20 Sep 2022
Other Publications Near Laguna Hills, California
Leisure World News
