JEAN HEBELER

HEBELER Jean R. Hebeler Professor Emerita (University of Maryland -College Park), age 86, of Silver Spring, Maryland passed away on March 17, 2018. Jean spent her childhood on a farm near Lockport, New York - very close to the Erie Canal and subsequently lived in Illinois and Utah, before coming to Maryland. Jean devoted her extraordinary career to advancing the rights to education and services for exceptional children and youth. Jean joined the faculty of the University of Maryland, College Park from Syracuse University in September 1960 as Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Special Education Program. In the early 1960s, Dr. Hebeler was instrumental in developing programs to respond to the immediate need for teachers and at the same time working with the Maryland State Department of Education to develop standards for the certification and preparation of special education teachers...and for special education programs. She also was an author of Maryland's special education by laws. Dr. Hebeler's advocacy and service to the profession on behalf of special education teachers and children and youth with exceptionalities extended well beyond Maryland. She was a longtime active member of the Council for Exceptional Children and served as president of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children in 1963-64 and was very active in the Professional Standards movement - serving as Chair of the Professional Standards Committee of CEC 1966-68 and served as President of the Council for Exceptional Children in 1972-73. This was a time of great Congressional activity as parents and other advocates moved for national legislation that guaranteed the right to education for children with disabilities. CEC was a major supporter of national legislation and developed the model legislation which led to the enactment of P.L. 94-142 was being developed by the Council for Exceptional Children along with other professional and parent advocate groups. In her role as President of the Council for Exceptional Children Jean was very involved with both national and state policymakers in support of the need for the legislation. She also served as an expert witness in federal and state court cases that challenged the exclusion of children with disabilities from education including the two landmark federal court cases, the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Mills v. Board of Education in the District of Columbia. In recognition of her many accomplishments and work on behalf of special educators, Jean received several prestigious awards from the from the Council for Exceptional Children including the J.E. Wallace Wallin Lifetime Achievement Award (1994), the Outstanding Leadership Award (2003) and the Outstanding Contributor in CEC and Special Education, Pioneer Division. Dr. Hebeler set the foundation of the special education program at University of Maryland, College Park. She was instrumental in the construction of the College of Education's Benjamin Building, she served as chairperson of the Department of Special Education from 1967 to 1974, and she served as acting dean of the College of Education from 1991-1993. Dr. Hebeler's relationship with her students and mentees was lifelong. She worked with over forty doctoral students during her time on the faculty. The Jean R. Hebeler Endowment Scholarship Fund was established in 2000 in her honor by some of those students she had mentored. The fund provides support to graduate and undergraduate students pursuing degrees in special education. To date, over 65 students have received awards. Jean always had an interest in art, but did not have the opportunity to pursue it until after retirement. She then exposed her wonderful talent through her watercolor paintings. In addition to painting, Jean's other favorite pastimes were attending the Terps football and basketball games, collecting turtles, gardening and of course spoiling animals...everyone's, Con Man the cat, and especially her dogs, Pete and Buffy. Jean is predeceased by her parents Richard and Madeline (May) Hebeler and her sister, Dorothy Heary. She is survived by her nephews, Timothy (Anita) Heary and Dale (Therese) Heary of Niagara Falls, New York and great nieces and nephews Nina (Kevin Schendel), Jeremy Heary, Christin (Venkat Koli), Angela (Ryan) Heary, Anthony (Amy) Heary, Mark (Jessica) Heary, and great-great nieces and nephews.(Brandon, Ashlea, Mackenzie, Cooper, Hudson, Nicholas, Tyler, Amar). The family asks that in lieu of flowers contributions be made to the Special Education Endowed Fund in Honor of Jean Hebeler. Please make checks payable to the University of Maryland College Park Foundation (UMCPF) Attn: Rachael Day, University of Maryland, College of Education, 1308 Benjamin Building, College Park, Maryland 20742. A memorial service will be held on April 16, 2018 at 2:00pm at the University of Maryland College Park, Memorial Chapel, 1101 Memorial Chapel, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742.The family asks that in lieu of flowers contributions be made to the Special Education Endowed Fund in Honor of Jean Hebeler. Please make checks payable to the University of Maryland College Park Foundation (UMCPF) Attn: Rachael Day, University of Maryland, College of Education, 1308 Benjamin Building, College Park, Maryland 20742. A memorial service will be held on April 16, 2018 at 2:00pm at the University of Maryland College Park, Memorial Chapel, 1101 Memorial Chapel, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742.