Janet Duvall

Janet L. Duvall, 73, of Chillicothe, died at 9:34pm April 12, 2021, at Adena Regional Medical Center, following an extended illness.   Janet was born on July 27, 1947 in Ashland, KY, raised in Washington Court House, OH and lived most of her life in Chillicothe, OH.  She was preceded in death by her parents Jay and Mildred (Johnson) Duvall.   Janet earned her master's degree and had worked as an Associate Professor for Ohio University-Chillicothe. After becoming aware of the difficulties that the deaf community has within our society, Janet dedicated her life to working with various community agencies to promote education, awareness and bridge the distances between the hearing and deaf communities.    In 1974, with the help of others, she established D.E.A.F Inc.  This organization was instrumental in getting an Emergency TTY Center established in the Fayette County Sheriff's office.  They were the first to get a TTY Center included in the Jerry Lewis Telethon.  She conducted sign language classes at her church, local community organizations and designed a special course for law enforcement officers to help them understand the deaf community and to build a better relationship between the two groups.  She traveled to several different countries working with Law Enforcement agencies to help them understand their deaf communities.  She assisted the South African Police Services to create a special manual for communicating with victims of child abuse due to their struggle with 21 different languages.     Janet was active in her church of Trinity United Methodist Church, with their Sunday School and their Deaf Ministry.  She leaves behind many dear friends who will miss her greatly.    Graveside services will be conducted at 11am Friday, April 16, in Washington Cemetery, in Washington C.H., OH with Pastor Kurt King officiating.   In lieu of flowers please consider donations to Trinity United Methodist Church, 24 S. Mulberry St., Chillicothe, OH 45601.
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