TFA Special Report

Monday, January 30, 1995

Dr. David Peikoff Dies at 94

Dr. David Peikoff, one of Gallaudet University's oldest

alumni and a dynamic individual who was considered "a champion of

champions" in the deaf world, died in his sleep on Saturday,

January 28 at home in Laurel, Maryland. He was 94 years old.

Born March 21, 1900 in Yanoschina, Poltava, Russia, Peikoff

emigrated to Manitoba, Canada with his family in 1906. He

graduated from the Manitoba School for the Deaf, then spent

several years as a printer before attending Gallaudet. He

received his bachelor's degree in 1929.

Upon graduation, Peikoff returned to Canada and launched a

career in fundraising. He was instrumental in establishing a

$50,000 scholarship fund to help deaf students from Canada pursue

degrees at Gallaudet College. From 1945 to 1960 he was the

service manager of Sealy Mattress Company in Toronto.

Peikoff founded the Western Canadian Association of the

Deaf, served as president of the Ontario Association of the Deaf,

and as executive secretary of the Canadian Association of the

Deaf.

His influence and leadership also extended to the United

States. He was vice president of the National Fraternal Society

of the Deaf from 1943 to 1947, and second vice president of the

National Association of the Deaf for more than 10 years. In this

role, he served as the organization's chief development officer.

In 1961, when the then-Gallaudet College Alumni Association

(GCAA) launched its Centennial Fund drive, Peikoff was asked to

become chairman. He and his family moved to Washington, DC, where

Peikoff set up Gallaudet's first alumni office. In 1967, the GCAA

presented more than $600,000 to the College as a result of its

Centennial Fund Drive.

Peikoff received numerous honors and awards, including

honorary master's (1950) and doctoral (1957) degrees from

Gallaudet. In 1971, he received the Medal of Honor from the

British Association of the Deaf. In 1987, the University of

Alberta named its Chair of Deafness Studies in his honor.

Peikoff had a stroke in 1971, but continued his service to

Gallaudet as a volunteer until his death. Together with Wallace

D. Edington, a member of the Gallaudet Class of 1915, he compiled

the Gallaudet Almanac, which was published in 1974.

In 1979, the Peikoffs became honorary co-chairpersons of a

nationwide campaign to raise $1.3 million to restore historic

"Ole Jim" as an alumni house. They assisted co-chairs Alan B. and

Florence Crammatte in the three-year campaign, which culminated

in the June 1982 rededication of "Ole Jim" as Gallaudet's Alumni House.

Peikoff is survived by his wife of 62 years, Pauline "Polly"

Nathanson Peikoff, two children, Myrna Shannon of Downey,

California and Joyce Meisegeier of New Carrollton, Maryland, four

grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

February 10, 1995

Two Roads...and David Peikoff

An Appreciation

(The following appreciation of Dr. David Peikoff is

excerpted from a presentation given by Jack R.

Gannon at Dr. Peikoff's memorial service at "Ole

Jim," Gallaudet University, on Thursday, February

2. All asterisked quotations are from the poem,

"The Road Not Taken," by Robert Frost.)

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry that [he]

could not travel both..." *

David Peikoff was my mentor, my "pusher," my "encourager,"

my supporter, my friend.

Rosalyn, my wife, and I first met -- actually we just saw

-- Dr. David Peikoff when he came to Gallaudet to speak to us

students over in Chapel Hall. We were preps then and we watched

in awe as this dynamic, handsome, thin man with wavy black hair

literally burned up the stage with his presentation. I remember

thinking to myself, no wonder he is so thin, he can't stand

still!

Never in my wildest imagination did I think that some day

I would be working with that man. But it happened, and it changed

my life.

Some of us know that David Peikoff lost his hearing when

he was five years old when, one day, he decided it was time for

him to go to school. He followed his older brothers and sisters

to their country school. But instead of going to school he got

lost in a snowstorm that nearly cost him his life. He became deaf

as a result of this adventure. Many of us find it strange that he

left us on a snowy day.

It would be impossible to tell you about all the things he

has done, but his success was far reaching and has left an impact

on all of us.

Dave couldn't have found a better life mate than Polly nor

a more supportive family. To a large extent they were the reasons

for his success and he knew it.

He was the reason I came back to Gallaudet as director of

the new Alumni Relations program. (Being the country hick that I

am, I had told all my classmates that I would NEVER work in

Washington, DC!) In becoming his co-worker, Rosalyn and I

gained another family -- his family. We were thrilled when our son,

Jeff, was born on his birthday.

Early in my years at Gallaudet I wrote a story about his

fund-raising success that was published in an off-campus

magazine. It was entitled, "He Makes Money Immortal. He Invests

It In Man." And, that's true.

He is the reason so many things have happened. He is one

of the reasons we are meeting today in OUR Alumni House. He is

one of the reasons Don Pettingill got his BA degree at the ripe

old age of 57! He is one of the reasons Mary Jean Moore got her

law degree.

He is one of the reasons so many of our alumni love,

cherish and support our alma mater. He is one of the reasons

Gallaudet College is today Gallaudet University and he is another

reason deaf people in Canada, the United States and around the

world have made so many advances.

I found it unusual that he didn't have a middle name and

after working with him briefly came to believe he should have had

one and it should have been "N" for "NOW -- you know, DO IT

N-O-W!!!" Believe me, was that man a DO-IT-NOWer!

He had a favorite word and it was "B-U-N-K!" He believed

that when we all chip in together to raise money we could reach

any goal. And when he met a "non-believer" -- which he frequently

did -- or someone who said, "Impossible," he would respond with,

"Impossible?! B-U-N-K!"

As most of you will remember, David Peikoff never stood

still! He had boundless energy. When he excitedly rubbed his

hands together and started smiling and his eyes began to glisten,

I knew it was time to watch out! It meant that he was ready to

GO!, and when he was ready to GO! ten Missouri mules could not

hold him back!

One day all that energy almost got him in serious trouble.

We and the Gallaudet College Alumni Association officers had just

finished a Board meeting and were going off-campus to lunch. Dave

volunteered -- as always -- to drive. But, as usual, he was in a

hurry and he forgot to check to be sure everyone was in the car

before his foot hit the gas pedal. As it happened, President Jim

Orman, an elderly man, was still getting into the car when Dave

started driving off Jim fell back in his seat and his leg shot up

in the air and out the open car door. Fortunately, we grabbed

Dave and told him to stop before any damage was done, but I will

never forget the stern, forgive-you-zero look on Jim's face!

Dave and his GCAA colleagues -- Ben Schowe, Sr., Jim Orman,

Boyce Williams, Alan Crammatte, Mac Norwood, Leon Auerbach,

and others -- lay the groundwork that would swell the number of

deaf persons with earned doctorates and eventually lead us to

Gallaudet's first deaf president. Working together they gave our

alumni association an identity and a purpose and chartered a

course for the organization that has made significant

contributions to the success of our University.

And, he did all this for US -- for you and me. It was always

for DEAF people, always for GALLAUDET. That was his life's

mission, his personal goal...his heart. He never thought of

himself. What a man he was! I loved that guy!

My family and I are going to miss him. But we know that as

sure as the sun shines on Kendall Green, as sure as the gentle

breeze makes the leaves in the trees dance, as sure as the clouds

float by overhead he will always be here with us.

"Two roads diverged...[he] took the one less travelled

by..." *

Aren't we fortunate that David Peikoff -- thanks to a

snowstorm--chose the road that came our way?!

"Two roads diverged..."--and for us--"...that has made all

the difference." *

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