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Rosemary Front

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rosemary Front
A sepia-colored newspaper photograph of a smiling white woman.
Rosemary Front, from a 2007 newspaper.
BornDecember 13, 1940
Wheeling, West Virginia
DiedApril 26, 2009
Wheeling, West Virginia
OccupationSpeech pathologist
Known forDisability rights advocacy

Rosemary Front (December 13, 1940 – April 26, 2009) was an American speech pathologist and disability rights advocate.

Early life

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Rosemary Margaret Front was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, the daughter of Peter Front and Mary Margaret Latimer Front. Her father was born in Austria. She graduated from Triadelphia High School. She earned a bachelor's degree at Southern Illinois University in 1966,[1] and a master's degree at Wayne State University.[2]

Front survived polio in adolescence,[3] spent time in an iron lung during her recovery,[4] and used a wheelchair.[2]

Career

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Front was a speech pathologist, and a member of the American Speech and Hearing Association. From 1969 to 1998, she was director of the Easter Seal Rehabilitation Center in Wheeling, and served three years as head of the West Virginia Easter Seal Society, and on the executive board of the National Easter Seal Society. She led the Wheeling Society for Crippled Children for many years.[2]

In 1974 she served on the statewide advisory board on implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.[5] In 1982, she was presented with an honorary Doctor of Law degree at Wheeling University's commencement ceremonies. Front was appointed to the United States Access Board by Ronald Reagan,[3][6] and served as a board member from 1983 to 1986.[7]

Personal life

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Front was a member of Temple Shalom in Wheeling, and active as a fundraiser in the congregation's Hadassah chapter.[8] She died in 2009, aged 68 years. In 2013, Front was posthumously inducted into the Wheeling Hall of Fame.[4][9]

References

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  1. ^ "Commencement : Southern Illinois University at Carbondale". Internet Archive. 1966. p. 38. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  2. ^ a b c "Wheeling Hall of Fame: Rosemary Front". Ohio County Public Library. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  3. ^ a b "Woman Named". East Liverpool Evening Review. October 15, 1983. p. 19. Retrieved July 26, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  4. ^ a b "Wheeling Hall of Fame Induction Held". Wheeling News-Register. April 21, 2013.
  5. ^ "Exceptional Child Advisors Selected". The Charleston Daily Mail. 1974-07-10. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-07-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Appointment of Three Members of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board" (April 8, 1983). via Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
  7. ^ "Former Public Board Members". United States Access Board. Archived from the original on 2020-07-26. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  8. ^ "Chocolate Extravaganza". The Jewish Chronicle. May 24, 2007. p. 19. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  9. ^ "Rosemary Front Elected To Wheeling Hall of Fame". Wheeling News-Register. April 7, 2013. Retrieved 2020-07-26.