Dianne Oppriecht

Dianne Oppriecht, daughter of Rudy and Phyllis Oppriecht, passed away on June 23 after a long illness.

After a high fever robbed her of her hearing at 10-months old, a school program was pioneered in the late 1940s for Dianne and other area deaf children that emphasized lip reading so that they might better integrate into a hearing world. Dianne became increasingly proficient as she continued her education and graduated from East High School before attending Gallaudet University in Washington DC in 1963. She returned to Madison and graduated from the Madison Area Technical College (MATC). Following graduation, Dianne was employed by the University of Wisconsin data center.

Dianne’s extraordinary ability to live and work comfortably in both a deaf and hearing world lead to Madison-area hospitals calling on her to help communicate with and comfort severely injured and ill deaf patients. She also taught sign language classes at MATC for several years where her ebullient personality endeared her to her students.

She was an active member and officer of the Madison Association of the Deaf for many years. Dianne was a devout member of Our Savior Deaf Lutheran Church and traveled with church members to Europe, the Middle East, Japan, and Korea.

Dianne is survived by her brother Larry Oppriecht, his daughters Elizabeth Nemura and Laura Wilson, and their children Halah, Ashlyn, and Cammi.