R. Dean Wilbur Passed Away This Month

[Linux for blind general discussion]

My father passed away this month. As he was an early member of the
technology community and a member of the Linux community, I thought I
should share it on this mailing list. It's likely that some of you knew him.

>From his obituary:
----
Richard Dean Wilbur, beloved father and devoted business man, passed away,
at
the age of 80, on Tuesday, April 12th, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dean was
born
March 29, 1942 in Ogden, Utah to the late Lindsay and Margie (nee Richards)
Wilbur.

Dean was a pioneer in the fight for equality and assistant services for
members
of the visually impared community on both the local and national level. He
was a
founding member of the American Council of the Blind Greater Cincinnati
Chapter
and the Blind Information Technology Specialists.

In 1966, Dean moved to Cincinnati to attend the University of Cincinnati
specifically for the department of Medical Computing Services' program for
teaching visually impaired and blind persons computer programming; the
first of
its kind in the US. Through this training, he was on the cutting edge of
medical
technology and part of a program that revolutionized Medical Computation
and
Statistical Analysis, in addition to teaching valuable career skills to
individuals with physical disabilities who would have otherwise been
overlooked
and shut out. Dean loved his work so much that he eventually took over
MedComp
Research, the company created by the founders of this program to carry out
this
groundbreaking work, and continued to educate young visually impared
individuals
in methods of computer programming and providing valuable medical
computations
to the Cincinnati Hospital Council and Hamilton County for nearly 40
years.

In addition to his parents, Dean is preceded in death by his sister
Carrolyn
Remey and his brother Lawerence E. Pilcher; Dean is survived by siblings:
Lynda
Perry and Lynette Pilcher; Dean's loving children: JD Kunz, Heather D.
Wilbur,
David L. (Monica) Wilbur, Karl J. (Justine) Wilbur, Sharon S. (Michael)
Jancha,
and Sarah K. (John) Pierce. Dean also leaves 18 grandchildren, several
great
grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews, as well as dear friends.
Gilligan
Funeral Home is honored to serve the family. In lieu of flowers, memorial
contributions in Dean's honor may be made to The Cincinnati Arts
Association.

Memorial Service will be held at 7:00 pm on Friday April 29, 2022 at
Philippi
Baptist Church located at 5996 Werk Rd., Cincinnati, Ohio 45248.

--
Karl Wilbur
513-322-2481
karl at karlwilbur.net