With great sadness we are reporting that Elaine R. Dechter passed away on April 15, 2010.
Elaine was CaptionMax’s first Consumer Advisory Board member—back in 1997.
Elaine was one of the most passionate supporters of captioning there ever was. She spent her time as a captioning advocate, raising awareness on a local level, where all great grassroots efforts start, in Santa Rosa, CA. There, she promoted and eventually succeeded in her efforts to bring captioned movies to the screens of Northern California. She was also the Secretary and Treasurer for the Redwood Empire Center on Deafness.
With CaptionMax, Elaine worked with serious intent helping us develop our guidelines and stylebook, most of which we still follow today. Her honest feedback and straightforward critiques were a pleasure to receive at the 10 board meetings she attended. Elaine never missed a board meeting with us, which for her, meant leaving the house at 4AM, arriving in MN at 10PM and then taking the same travel home the day after the meeting. She was always accompanied by her awesome companion dog, Tawny, until recently when Tawny retired and Norene took on the job.
Elaine took great pride in the other passions in her life, her daughter Ilana, her incredible skills in knitting—which she shared with the community through classes she gave on advanced kitting techniques, and of course her love of Northern California…”Max, when are you going to move the business to Sonoma County? You’ll be close to the vineyards and the ocean—all the things you love so much!”
Elaine was not only a warm, caring, passionate supporter of CaptionMax, she was a dear friend to me and many other staff members.
Memorial services being held April 25, 10AM at Daniel’s chapel of the Roses, Santa Rosa, CA.
Please post your comments and memories of Elaine below.
Thank you,
Max
So sorry to hear of Elaine’s passing. Wishing the peace of fond memories and warm thoughts to those who loved and knew her.
Comment by BJ LeJeune | April 16, 2010 @ 5:34 pm
I am deeply saddened to learn of Elaine’s passing. I was one of the original Caption Max Advisory Board members along with Elaine and Jay. The thing that always impressed me about Elaine was her dedication to improving accessibility to the media, and through her efforts, things changed for the better. I’ll always remember her and Tawny as an inseparable team. She will be missed.
Comment by Willis Mann | April 17, 2010 @ 2:14 pm
Elaine was such a bright and compassionate person. I am grateful for her contributions to accessible media for all with hearing loss. Peace and blessings to her family and friends.
Comment by Michelle Rich | April 19, 2010 @ 11:39 pm