29 July 2019.
Able Australia would like to pay our respects to the late Bev Staughton, a committed supporter of Able Australia in the 1960s. We offer our condolences to the Staughton family and thank them for their contribution to Able Australia over the years.
Ex-CEO John Finch has kindly provided his memories of Bev below.
Bev first became involved with what is now Able Australia in the late 1960’s when she contacted Eddie Keir, the then Senior Audiologist of the Royal Children’s Hospital, regarding her daughter, Cathy, who was deafblind due to congenital rubella syndrome. As a result she joined The Victorian Deaf Blind and Rubella Children’s Association in 1968. The Victorian Deaf Blind and Rubella Children’s Association later became The Deaf Blind Association and is now Able Australia.
Bev served as a committee/board member of the organisation with her husband John in the 1970s and 80s. She became Board President in 1985, taking over from Greg Hamilton. Her Presidency included a difficult financial period for the organisation in the late 1980’s due to the organisation establishing its first three State funded group homes. It was also an important period in establishing a strong fundraising base. Bev was a great supporter of the needs of people with deafblindness. Amongst Bev and her husband’s interests was a Wedding reception centre in the Dandenongs and each year she put on a Christmas Function for staff. Bev also spent a period as a St Kilda Councillor.
Bev also committed herself to her daughter’s artistic interest, Cathy designing the Christmas aerogram in the early 1980s and making and selling birdbaths when she was in the mood.