It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of Paula Sargent.  According to FRID Historical Documents, she served as FRID President from 1993-1995.  She committed her life to serving the Deaf community and helping to grow interpreters and the interpreting profession.  Her death is a great loss to both the Deaf and interpreting communities here in Florida.  Below is Paula's obituary. 

SARGENT, Paula Marie passed on at the age of 70 on Monday, September 12th in Miami Lakes, Florida. She is survived by her husband, Charles K. King, her stepson, Charles R. King, her niece and nephew Brooke and Darren Touhy, her aunts, Barbara Dowling and Ruth Kennedy and many cousins. She was predeceased by her brother William Touhy who was a well-known teacher in Dade County Schools for thirty-nine years, her mother Eleanor Schoeberlien and her father Paul Grey.

Paula was a dedicated and loved teacher who began her career in Hawaii teaching deaf students. In 1984, she moved to Miami, Florida and began teaching sign language at Miami Dade College where she launched a very successful career building the Sign Language Interpreter Training Program. During the 1980s she was the President of the Florida Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. She also presented workshops all over the United States helping people master their interpreting skills.

Paula devoted her entire career to enhancing communication between the Deaf community and Hearing Community. She did this with passion, energy, professionalism, and innovativeness. She spent most of her life doing what she loved and made things better for the thousands of lives she touched. To assess the impact of Paula’s life one need only listen to her friends who are quick to affirm that she has truly enriched their lives. She will be deeply missed.

In the near future a celebration of her life will be held in Miami Lakes, Florida.