Cooper, Onalee Rickard

Born on the Tuscarora Indian reservation near Niagara Falls, NY; deaf at age 18 months from meningitis. Entered the Rochester School for the Deaf at age 3, 1939, graduating 1955. Plans to enter Gallaudet College were stymied since her parents could not afford to support her college education, and she had to go directly to work to support herself. Worked for a while at a small telephone company, but quit when she was denied a transfer opportunity because of her deafness. Signed up with Kodak to work in a copier factory, where she stayed until taking advantage of early retirement at age 55 in 1992 because of a bad supervisor.