Nancy Evans Kensicki

It is with great sadness that the family of Dr. Nancy Evans Kensicki announces her sudden passing on April 16, 2022, at the age of 83. Nancy is survived by her husband of 61 years, Peter John Kensicki; three children: Wayne Peter Kensicki (married to Coleen), Linda Jean Kenix (partnered with Jennifer), and Diana “DeeDee” Susan Kensicki Fleet; four grandchildren; four step-grandchildren and two brothers. She is predeceased by her parents, a brother, and a son-in-law.

Nancy Maureen Evans was born on March 17, 1939 in Buffalo, New York to Margaret Villee Evans and Harry M. Evans. Her mother, Margaret, had a profound impact on her life. Nancy was born deaf and her childhood years were not easy. Being college-educated, her mother instinctively turned to the library about deafness, but found scant information. She did learn that there was a day school for deaf students nearby. With all possible speed, she enrolled Nancy there at the age of two. Then, painstakingly following the instructions of the after-school program, Margaret cut out pictures, pasted them on cardboard, and printed words below. Nancy was to orally speak these words aloud. Her earliest memories were of stepping down from the school bus to find her mother waiting for her with the cardboards under her arm. It was a daily ritual; Margaret pointed to the picture, said the word, and Nancy tried to imitate the pronunciation for hours each day. She had three brothers and was constantly moving due to her father’s career in sales. At 7 years old, she moved to Philadelphia from Buffalo. Three years later, she moved to DC, and after that, to Stow, Ohio. While Margaret was attempting to teach Nancy to speak, she also instilled in her a passionate love for reading. When she was growing up, she went to libraries daily. Nancy’s friends knew very little sign language and so she turned to books. Nancy became absolutely lost in them. She would stagger home with huge loads of books from the library. Notably, she loved the OZ series and Nancy Drew mysteries. Nancy started trying her hand at writing, which led her to study the English language and literature and eventually teach both.

She enrolled at Gallaudet in 1957, but left after one year and returned to Stow to work at Firestone Tire Company in Akron. It was at that point that she met Peter Kensicki. They met at a basketball tournament put on by the Akron Club of the Deaf, held in February 1960. Peter was playing for Columbus and Nancy thought he was the best looking guy out of all the players. They started talking and saw it was snowing heavily, so, he stayed at her parent’s house for the night. The next day they drove back to Akron and Peter rejoined his team to go home. Then a letter appeared in the mail from Peter to Nancy. A flurry of letters resulted and Peter proposed only two months after their initial meeting. They were married in September – seven months after they met.

After being married only a short period of time, Peter left for Washington DC, determined that Nancy should start university study again at Gallaudet. He found a job at High’s moving and storing boxes. Nancy drove to DC in a 1954 Buick loaded up with their possessions and then re-enrolled at Gallaudet with Peter’s strong support. She later earned her Bachelor's degree and her Master's degree at Gallaudet. She was hired to teach at Gallaudet in 1967 and spent the next ten long years going to classes and studying for a Ph.D. on a part-time basis at Catholic University while teaching full-time. She was about eight months pregnant with Linda Jean, born 1970, when she, Peter, and Wayne, born 1968, moved from an apartment in New Carrolton, MD, to a house on Sutton Drive in Kettering, MD. She wrote her dissertation at nights when Linda Jean and Wayne were asleep upstairs and DeeDee, born 1976, slept in her bassinet on the floor next to her as she worked at the dining room table. Nancy passed the defence of her dissertation from Catholic University in 1979. The day after Nancy passed her defence, she left the committee that had just congratulated her, drove to Gallaudet, stopped her car along the way and had a good cry as she watched the sun rise over trees. She arrived at Gallaudet and found the dean in her office – he immediately told her she would get a pay raise. She went home and cleared away all the academic books that had been on the dining room table for nine years and had a grand party with friends and family to celebrate. Through sheer tenacity and hard work, she became the first deaf woman in the world to receive a PhD in English. This was the first of her many professional accomplishments.

Dr. Kensicki taught English from 1967 to 2004, and served multiple terms as chair of the Department of English at Gallaudet University,. It was about this time that the “Deaf President Now” protest occurred. She happened to be at a conference in Chicago, but was immensely proud and vociferously supportive of Gallaudet students who were protesting the Board's decision to hire a hearing woman instead of a deaf man. During her time at Gallaudet, Nancy was involved in the faculty governance system and advised student organizations, including The Buff and Blue, the Delta Epsilon Sorority, and the Phi Alpha Pi Honor Society. She became an officer and member of the National Association of the Deaf and the Maryland Association of the Deaf, the Deaf Telecommunicators of Greater Washington, National Association of the Deaf, International Alumnae of Delta Epsilon Sorority, Maryland Deaf Senior Citizens, and Deaf Seniors of America. She served as secretary of the Gallaudet University Alumni Association Board of Directors for ten years, and served for over 40 years as a member and chair of GUAA’s Graduate Fellowship Fund Committee. All of these committee services and organisational activities took an inordinate amount of time, but she saw all of these responsibilities as opportunities for the deaf community to make themselves known to the wider hearing community – thus, each one was essential.

Dr. Kensicki advocated tirelessly for years for closed captions, interpreters and equal rights for deaf people. She was part of meetings upon meetings to organize and advocate for deaf rights. All of her work, and the work of hundreds if not thousands of others, culminated in President Bush signing the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA) at the White House in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public throughout the United States of America. This was a landmark accomplishment in her life – and for the lives of millions of disabled people in the country. Dr. Kensicki was proudly on the White House lawn when the ADA was signed into law.

Dr. Kensicki is remembered by generations of students as one of their favorite teachers at Gallaudet University. Although deeply loved as a teacher, she was strict and had exacting standards – much like her beloved mother, Margaret, who also taught English. “She clearly loved teaching,” said one commenter on Facebook, “she had high expectations and higher standards.” She taught thousands of students, advised hundreds of undergraduate students, served as a reader for tens and tens of Honors capstone projects, and served on several doctoral dissertation committees. Nancy also actively recruited and mentored Deaf faculty for the English department before her own retirement.

Throughout all of her amazing accomplishments as a teacher, mentor and academic, Nancy Kensicki was a wife that loved her partner, Peter, unwaveringly and a mother that loved her children unconditionally. She also loved (in no particular order): Vanilla Bean ice cream, autumn colors, black coffee, watching movies, the Democratic Party, her heart keychain from her dear friend Bonnie Kolander, Chardonnay, taking cruises around the world with friends, solitaire, going out to dinner, watching movies, reading science fiction, key lime pie and hearing any story that any one of her children told. She has left a huge hole in the hearts of all those who admired her, respected her, and loved her.

A memorial service is being planned for this summer at Gallaudet University. The family suggests contributions in Dr. Kensicki’s honor to one or both endowed funds that her family set up at Gallaudet, and/or the Gallaudet University Alumni Association Graduate Fellowship Fund.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.robertevansfuneralhome.com for the Kensicki family.