Sue Thomas (May 24, 1950 – December 13, 2022) was an American author and former FBI agent, who was the first

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

person to work as an undercover specialist doing lip-reading of suspects.

Early life

Thomas was born on May 24, 1950, in

Boardman, Ohio Boardman Township is one of the fourteen townships of Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. The population was 40,213 at the 2020 census. A suburb directly south of Youngstown, it is the second largest municipality in the Youngstown–Warren ...

. At the age of 18 months, she became profoundly deaf; the reason is not definitely known. At the age of seven, Thomas became the youngest Ohio State Champion free-style skater in skating history. Speech therapists helped her develop her voice, and she also became an expert lip reader. Thomas graduated from

Springfield College Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and international affairs.

Career in the FBI

At the FBI, Thomas started out as a fingerprint examiner, then she became a lip-reader for an undercover surveillance team. Thomas spent four years working for the FBI, from 1979 to 1983.

Writing

In 1990, Thomas wrote her autobiography entitled ''Silent Night'', which became the basis for the TV series to follow. This book begins when she lost her hearing at 18 months and chronicles her life all the way through to her resignation from the FBI. The continuing story of her life is called ''Staying In The Race'', where Thomas shares stories about living with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

TV series

In 2002, the TV series '' Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye,'' created jointly by Dave Alan Johnson and Gary R. Johnson, premiered on the

Pax TV Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented ente ...

first-run syndication network. Inspired by Thomas' unique job for the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

, the weekly drama helped to bring more awareness to the lives and abilities of those with physical challenges. The series starred actress

Deanne Bray Deanne Bray (born May 14, 1971) is an American actress. Bray was born deaf and is bilingual in American Sign Language and English. Early Life and Education Bray was born in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California and has spent most of her life in ...

, who is herself deaf, and reads lips like Thomas, and it was loosely based on Thomas' real experiences. At its peak, the series was watched by more than 2.5 million viewers in the United States, and it was syndicated to 60 nations. In September 2009, the show began airing on

Gospel Music Channel UP TV (stylized as UPtv; formerly GMC TV and originally Gospel Music Channel) is an American basic cable television network that was founded to have a focus on gospel music. It has expanded into family-friendly original movies, series, and special ...

. In addition to Bray, the cast of ''Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye'' included actors

Yannick Bisson Yannick Denis Bisson (born May 16, 1969) is a Canadian film and television actor and director best known to international audiences for playing Detective William Murdoch on the series ''Murdoch Mysteries''. Early life Bisson was born in Montrea ...

Rick Peters Rick Peters (born June 1, 1967 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American actor. He has appeared in several films and numerous television shows, and is perhaps best known for his role as Australian Bobby Manning in '' Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye''. He also p ...

, Mark Gomes, Tara Samuel,

Ted Atherton Ted Atherton is a Canadian actor. He is best known as Myles Leland III in the TV series '' Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye''. Early life He moved with his family to Scarborough, Ontario when he was 13. He went to the University of Toronto and obtained a bac ...

and

Enuka Okuma Enuka Vanessa Okuma (; born September 20, 1976) is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as detective Traci Nash in the Global/ ABC police drama series, ''Rookie Blue'' (2010–2015). Okuma is also known for her work on the Canadian televis ...

. A golden retriever who responded to the name of Jesse stood in during the run of the program for Thomas' real golden retriever, who responded to the name of Levi. Marilyn Stonehouse served as the chief producer for the Pebblehut Productions company, through which ''Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye'' was produced. Sue Thomas appeared in two episodes: "Billy the Kid (aka: Question Mark)" and the series finale, "Ending and Beginnings".

Personal life

In 2001, Thomas was diagnosed with

. In 2020, she was diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

, though the following year, she said she was cancer-free. Thomas died on December 13, 2022.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Sue 1950 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American memoirists 21st-century American memoirists American deaf people Federal Bureau of Investigation agents People from Boardman, Ohio People with multiple sclerosis Springfield College (Massachusetts) alumni Writers from Youngstown, Ohio