Saturday, November 08, 2003

By Michelle K. Massie, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Paul A. Loera, a psychologist who pioneered the delivery of mental health services to deaf people, died of cancer Wednesday at his home in Shaler. He was 55.

Dr. Loera, a native of El Paso, Texas, worked for almost 30 years as a therapist at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. A Navy veteran of Vietnam, he held a doctorate in rehabilitation psychology from the University of Pittsburgh.

"There were practically no services devoted to the mental health of hearing-impaired people until he came along," said Ed Zuckerman, a licensed clinical psychologist who knew Dr. Loera for nearly 25 years.

"He saw a void and filled it."

In addition to his work at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, Dr. Loera worked as a therapist and signer for agencies such as Allegheny East MH/MR, United Mental Health, and the Hiram G. Andrews Rehabilitation Center in Johnstown.

Dr. Loera developed the Center on Deafness, a residential program at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. He also wrote proposals, testified at government hearings, conducted and published research, served on task forces and planned projects meant to expand services to the deaf throughout Pennsylvania.

"He was a very, very passionate person," said Don Rhoten, superintendent of the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. "When he was ill, he still came to work. He was a very well-respected person."

In 2002, Dr. Loera received a certificate of recognition from the Pennsylvania Department of Health for his work with people with disabilities.

Dr. Loera is survived by his wife, Susan Wirth-Loera; a daughter, Providenza Loera, of Penn Hills; and a sister, Carmen Fernandez, of California.

Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today in St. Joseph Church, Dorseyville Road, O'Hara. Burial will follow in St. Mary Cemetery, O'Hara.

Contributions can be made to the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, 300 Swissvale Ave., Pittsburgh 15218, or to St. Paul of the Cross Monastery, 148 Monastery Ave., Pittsburgh 15203.

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