Gary: I was born in Salinas, California. (Salinas means "salt mine.") The onset of my deafness is unknown. My parents had to look for a special school for me after finding out I was deaf when I was 3 years old. One residential school for the deaf and one oral school for the deaf in California were full, so my parents moved back to Wisconsin to enroll me in an oral day school for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. In the 7th grade, I was integrated into a public school with no support services. I went through high school and graduated, then went to Gallaudet University and graduated. I was married to Robin Leigh for 25 years. We have three children - twin boys and one girl.
