Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) - Thursday, August 27, 1992
Deceased Name: ESTELLE C. FLETCHER DIES MINISTERED TO THE DEAF
Estelle Caldwell Fletcher, mother of Academy Award-winning actress Louise Fletcher and a pioneer in ministry to the deaf, has died at age 91. Mrs. Fletcher, a longtime Birmingham resident, died Monday in Alexandria, Va., where her funeral was held yesterday.
She was the widow of the Rev. Robert C. Fletcher, an Episcopal priest who died in 1988. Both were deaf, and together they worked in deaf ministries in Alabama from 1929 until 1972.
Their daughter brought attention to the deaf by using sign language to speak to her parents during her acceptance of the 1976 best-actress Oscar for her role as Nurse Ratchet in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." She said both her parents played an important role in starting deaf ministries throughout the South.
Mr. Fletcher was pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church for the Deaf in Birmingham and traveled to 42 deaf missions in nine states. While he traveled, Mrs. Fletcher continued the ministry work at St. John's.
"When he traveled he was only in Birmingham one Sunday a month at St. John's," Miss Fletcher said. "She held down the fort. She held Sunday school on the Sundays he was not there to preach. She did not preach, but she conducted a Sunday school for the adults. They would have lunches and she would be the cook. She was a big part of it. She was the unsung partner."
St. John's continues as an Episcopal parish with 55 members who are led by a deaf priest recruited by Mr. Fletcher.
The Fletchers retired in 1972 and lived in Birmingham until 1978, when they moved to Alexandria. A graveside service is planned for Sept. 19 for the burial of Mrs. Fletcher's ashes in her birthplace, Bryan, Texas.
Deceased Name: ESTELLE C. FLETCHER DIES MINISTERED TO THE DEAF
Estelle Caldwell Fletcher, mother of Academy Award-winning actress Louise Fletcher and a pioneer in ministry to the deaf, has died at age 91. Mrs. Fletcher, a longtime Birmingham resident, died Monday in Alexandria, Va., where her funeral was held yesterday.
She was the widow of the Rev. Robert C. Fletcher, an Episcopal priest who died in 1988. Both were deaf, and together they worked in deaf ministries in Alabama from 1929 until 1972.
Their daughter brought attention to the deaf by using sign language to speak to her parents during her acceptance of the 1976 best-actress Oscar for her role as Nurse Ratchet in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." She said both her parents played an important role in starting deaf ministries throughout the South.
Mr. Fletcher was pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church for the Deaf in Birmingham and traveled to 42 deaf missions in nine states. While he traveled, Mrs. Fletcher continued the ministry work at St. John's.
"When he traveled he was only in Birmingham one Sunday a month at St. John's," Miss Fletcher said. "She held down the fort. She held Sunday school on the Sundays he was not there to preach. She did not preach, but she conducted a Sunday school for the adults. They would have lunches and she would be the cook. She was a big part of it. She was the unsung partner."
St. John's continues as an Episcopal parish with 55 members who are led by a deaf priest recruited by Mr. Fletcher.
The Fletchers retired in 1972 and lived in Birmingham until 1978, when they moved to Alexandria. A graveside service is planned for Sept. 19 for the burial of Mrs. Fletcher's ashes in her birthplace, Bryan, Texas.
Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) - Thursday, August 27, 1992
Deceased Name: ESTELLE C. FLETCHER DIES MINISTERED TO THE DEAF
Estelle Caldwell Fletcher, mother of Academy Award-winning actress Louise Fletcher and a pioneer in ministry to the deaf, has died at age 91. Mrs. Fletcher, a longtime Birmingham resident, died Monday in Alexandria, Va., where her funeral was held yesterday.
She was the widow of the Rev. Robert C. Fletcher, an Episcopal priest who died in 1988. Both were deaf, and together they worked in deaf ministries in Alabama from 1929 until 1972.
Their daughter brought attention to the deaf by using sign language to speak to her parents during her acceptance of the 1976 best-actress Oscar for her role as Nurse Ratchet in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." She said both her parents played an important role in starting deaf ministries throughout the South.
Mr. Fletcher was pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church for the Deaf in Birmingham and traveled to 42 deaf missions in nine states. While he traveled, Mrs. Fletcher continued the ministry work at St. John's.
"When he traveled he was only in Birmingham one Sunday a month at St. John's," Miss Fletcher said. "She held down the fort. She held Sunday school on the Sundays he was not there to preach. She did not preach, but she conducted a Sunday school for the adults. They would have lunches and she would be the cook. She was a big part of it. She was the unsung partner."
St. John's continues as an Episcopal parish with 55 members who are led by a deaf priest recruited by Mr. Fletcher.
The Fletchers retired in 1972 and lived in Birmingham until 1978, when they moved to Alexandria. A graveside service is planned for Sept. 19 for the burial of Mrs. Fletcher's ashes in her birthplace, Bryan, Texas.
Deceased Name: ESTELLE C. FLETCHER DIES MINISTERED TO THE DEAF
Estelle Caldwell Fletcher, mother of Academy Award-winning actress Louise Fletcher and a pioneer in ministry to the deaf, has died at age 91. Mrs. Fletcher, a longtime Birmingham resident, died Monday in Alexandria, Va., where her funeral was held yesterday.
She was the widow of the Rev. Robert C. Fletcher, an Episcopal priest who died in 1988. Both were deaf, and together they worked in deaf ministries in Alabama from 1929 until 1972.
Their daughter brought attention to the deaf by using sign language to speak to her parents during her acceptance of the 1976 best-actress Oscar for her role as Nurse Ratchet in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." She said both her parents played an important role in starting deaf ministries throughout the South.
Mr. Fletcher was pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church for the Deaf in Birmingham and traveled to 42 deaf missions in nine states. While he traveled, Mrs. Fletcher continued the ministry work at St. John's.
"When he traveled he was only in Birmingham one Sunday a month at St. John's," Miss Fletcher said. "She held down the fort. She held Sunday school on the Sundays he was not there to preach. She did not preach, but she conducted a Sunday school for the adults. They would have lunches and she would be the cook. She was a big part of it. She was the unsung partner."
St. John's continues as an Episcopal parish with 55 members who are led by a deaf priest recruited by Mr. Fletcher.
The Fletchers retired in 1972 and lived in Birmingham until 1978, when they moved to Alexandria. A graveside service is planned for Sept. 19 for the burial of Mrs. Fletcher's ashes in her birthplace, Bryan, Texas.
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