SANTA ANA – Richard Roehm aka Iron Teeth, chairman and a founder of the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center, died Feb. 6. He was 50.Roehm, who lived in the French Park area, suffered a heart attack and died at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, said Beth Koenig, the executive director of the nonprofit.
Roehm grew up in Glendale, graduated form Rancho Alamitos High School in 1981 and received a bachelor's degree in computer science from Cal State Fullerton. He worked for Disneyland, left the company and was disabled by the time he helped found the Santa Ana-based Deaf Advocacy Center in 1998, said Koenig. He served as CEO and president until 2010, when he became board chairman and Koenig became its executive director.
Roehm was a longtime fan of the "Law and Order" television series. She said he loved learning about and tracking volcanoes and earthquakes, enjoyed seeing Old Faithful eruptions via a webcam, and cared about animals, such as the pet lizard he kept, and Ruby, a mixed-breed dog who was his companion for many years.
Roehm had been hard of hearing as a child and became Deaf at age 11, Koenig said. She said he believed that nonprofits turned away people who needed help, so decided to start the Deaf Advocacy Center. The agency helps people with disabilities find employment and housing provides training in such areas as Braille, American Sign Language, computer skills and personal finances, and helps Deaf people with poor reading skills fill out forms.
The agency he helped found runs on a budget of $30,000 to $45,000 a year, mostly from sales on its eBay store and from donations, Koenig said. It relies on a roll of about 200 volunteers, about 20 of whom are regulars and about five of whom make up its core group, she said.
Roehm will be remembered as passionate, Koenig said. Many Deaf people are active bloggers and readers of blogs, Koenig said. ... READ MORE: http://www.ocregister.com/news/koenig-496357-roehm-deaf.html
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