McClelland, Ritva Paivikki Soderholm

Born in Finland; deaf either at birth or in infancy. Family emigrated to Thunder Bay, ON, Canada and she went to the Ontario School for the Deaf until age 16, then finished her education at Jericho Hill School for the Deaf. Worked as a data entry operator for various companies and agencies. Married deaf man Jim McClelland in 1970 and suspended working to raise a family; eventually she returned to work after taking courses and became a word processor briefly, then an accounting clerk for the Cnadian government for 12 years before taking early retirement in 1998, though she continued to work part-time providing support in local group homes.