DeLaine with her brother in 2010
DATE: Saturday, May 7, 2011
TIME: 3:00 PM
Memorial Service set for Delaine Dekalb
New Life Deaf Fellowship
6917 Brentwood Stair Rd.
Fort Worth, TX 76112
Speaking in behalf of DeLaine’s family, (her brother) Stephen M. Brodie, (her mother) Camille DeKalb, (her son) James H. Wall, (her daughter) Kelly DeKalb and to the love of her life, Gregory Sanderson, I wish to convey our profound gratitude to her friends for the warm wishes accorded our family.
DeLaine was born profoundly deaf from a bout of German Measles.
DeLaine was given as much love and opportunities as has any child with a handicapping condition, which she never allowed to slow her down. During her years, DeLaine, was the first pre-lingual deaf minor to receive the 3M, single channel, Cochlear Implant by Dr. JVD Hough in connection with Doctor House, of the House Institute in California.
Later, at the age of 18, DeLaine received the multiple-channel Cochlear Implant, the first pre-lingual adult to so do. She became the poster child for the cochlear implants, have been implanted with a single channel and, later, with the multiple channel. Sadly, neither proved successful as, from birth, she had no auditory reference on which to decode the electrical stimulus from the device(s).
Neither were successful as she had no auditory reference with which to decode the signals she received from the devices. None the less, she acquired two college degrees and was fluent in ASL and the Morpheme Sign System.
It was because of DeLaine (and Stephen) that her mother and I both became fluent in the (English morpheme based) Morpheme Sign System, thus her fluency in the English language. Later she acquired fluency in American Sign Language using both systems to the benefit of her friends, acquaintances and co-workers.
In her recent years, she met and fell in love with the love of her life, Gregory Sanderson, a hearing gentleman, who was by her side the entire hospital ordeal until her being called home to be with Jesus Christ, her Lord and Savior. Greg has been “adopted” by the members of our family.
To those who have given so much to our family and, especially, to DeLaine…..THANK YOU.
Thank you for your prayers and well wishes and to those who will journey to attend her memorial service in Fort Worth on Saturday, May 7th.
Plans are for the entire family to celebrate DeLaine’s life and give thanks to God for loaning her to us and to you.
May God richly continue to bless you, your families and her many friends in this life and in the life yet to come.
Maranatha,
J. Steve Brodie
Father to DeLaine