Fischer, Catherine Hoffpauir "Kitty"

Born deaf in the Louisiana Cajun country; after unsuccessful attempts by "folk healers" to cure her deafness, was sent by her parents to the Louisiana School for the Deaf. Also attended and graduated Gallaudet College (1972). Worked as a librarian at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf until her early retirement about 1995. Married Lance Fischer, a Jewish deaf man. During her 20s, her vision began to become increasingly narrower, and eventually it was confirmed she had Usher syndrome. The high incidence of Usher syndrome among Cajun people led her to re-examine her roots, and eventually she adjusted to a new life celebrating her four cultures: Deaf, Cajun, Blind, and Jewish. Autobiography is Orchid of the Bayou: A Deaf Woman Faces Blindness (2001).