Photo Credit: Joy Brown
Last week we lost a one of a kind in Richard Wanderman. Richard was the founder of this site LDResources.org back in the 90’s. He was a potter, a rock climber, a photographer and an educational technologist. You can find some of his writings and photography at RichardsNotes.org
He also happened to be dyslexic. Richard was generous in sharing what he knew from a personal and professional perspective. He marched to his own beat and could make complex and nuanced ideas easily understood.
He was a husband and family man who was cherished by many. He was instrumental in setting up and advising schools across the country on computer labs and overall approaches to using technology to help students with dyslexia learn better.
Brain cancer come on pretty suddenly this winter.
This beautiful song/poem below from Bill Lauf, Richard’s dear friend.
SLEEP, FRIEND, SLEEP. (Adapted from Sleep, George, Sleep)
Sleep friend, sleep. Your wings are fine.
The world was ours, and now, only mine
I was caught pretending that life goes on
So sleep, friend, sleep when you’re gone
Dream, I dream dreams of you
When our song wasn’t blue
We were happy blending chords ’til dawn
Dream, friend, dream when you’re gone
Nothing haunts like the mystery
Of passing to history
And soul upon soul such an endless sea
Of lives, loves, pains and passions
See, friend, see, I am here
In this gray atmosphere
I am winding my way too
See, friend, see I love you
See, friend, see I love you
Thank you Richard for all you’ve been. I hope you’re still at the wheel up in heaven.
Richard Wanderman taught me (and many others) about the potential of technology to help students with disabilities, and his inspiration and insights have helped me support the needs of thousands of students over the past three decades. He made a massive difference in my life and theirs. He is missed.
Thanks Mark. Richard was a good friend and a remarkable and inspiring teacher. He always helped me tug at the edges and see something differently. Often it was something “hiding in plain sight.”
Sanford
I never knew Richard Wanderman in person the only correspondence I had with his was through an one time email as the winner of an electronic word processing device called an Alphasmart after making the most posts on an old community forum on Alphasmarts website that no longer exists. After that Richard would only ever chime in on some of the posts I would post there or on the Flicker Alphasmart group when I would post questions about Alphasmarts or anythings he could answer relating to the Alphasmart device. Such a loss of a great person RIP
Thanks Jim for writing in. Richard was a real special guy and a professional who championed all things that he deemed useful for the LD community. He was an early adopter of things like the Alphasmart for example.. As he grew more and more into his considerable photography talent he transitioned LDResources to me, an honor.
Take care.
Sanford
I first heard Richard speak at Closing the Gap in MN. I was immediately a fan. I had him come speak to teachers in our state. He was well received because he had so many practical ideas and tools in his belt that really made a difference for so many students. I am saddened that he is no longer with us, but his legacy will be vast. He was a very, kind and gentle man that brought so much to so many.
Sheila, thanks for writing in and offering your memories of Richard. His tool belt was great as you say. And if like me, you became a friend or otherwise had the opportunity to hear him talk about his thinking and perspectives (behind the tools) it was fascinating. He often gave me moments of “ah-ha” and “hmm” and no matter how nuanced it was he could put those thoughts in easily digestible bits (or maybe in his case bytes 🙂