Sawchuk, Lois Elizabeth Long

Born at Newkirk, Oklahoma, and apparently deafened in infancy by some kind of hemorrhaging; she seems to have been rescued by Native Americans from a nearby Indian reservation who took care of her during her recovery. Her mother was Canadian, and moved herself and Lois back to Canada, settling on a farm at Delia, AB. Lois attended local public school, then transferred to the Manitoba School for the Deaf. Hopes to attend Gallaudet College went unfulfilled for lack of funds. Became a seamstress for a living; in 1943, married Steve Sawchuk, also deaf. She quit sewing in 1958 and worked in a drycleaning plant for a time, but gave it up due to low wages. She continued to sew and do tailoring work on the side until her death.