Famous mother of children with disabilities

Legendary opera singer Beverly Sills passed away at the age of 78 (May 25, 1929 – July 2, 2007). "Bubbles" was an American icon and was once compared to the Statue of Liberty. Katie Couric pays tribute to the diva. (CBSNews.com)


Beverly was perhaps the best-known American opera singer in the 1960s and 1970s. Sills' now high-profile career landed her on the cover of Time magazine in 1971, labeling her as "America's Queen of Opera." Sills focused a more important force for popularizing opera than any other singer of her era through her many appearances on talk shows, including those with Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, David Frost, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, and Dinah Shore. Sills even had her own talk show, "Lifestyles with Beverly Sills" on NBC. In 1979 she even appeared on The Muppet Show. She co-hosted The View for Best Friends Week on November 9, 2006, as Barbara Walters' best friend. She said that she didn't sing anymore, even in the shower, to preserve the memory of her voice.

With her daughter, Muffy, at her bedside, Beverly Sills succumbed to cancer on July 2, 2007, at the age of 78. Sills lent her celebrity to further her charity work for the prevention and treatment of birth defects. See more in Special mother to the special children. Her two children, Muffy, at age two, she was diagnosed as suffering from severe hearing loss and then several months later, Peter was diagnosed as mentally retarded. Years later, Muffy also was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. National MS Society Mourns the Loss of Beverly Sills Greenough In 2005, Beverly Sills and Carol Burnett (friendship lasting three decades), were together again in public to raise funds for multiple sclerosis,that afflicts her daughter.

Why am I telling you this? I went to a deaf school with Muffy near Boston for about 5 years before she moved to New York. Then I saw her again at NTID (RIT) for two years. After I heard about her being diagnosed with MS, I contacted her again and chatted for a bit before we lost touch with each other. I am hoping to reach her again someday which I think I will. By the way, when in school outside Boston, we had a crush on each other but we were kids (around 10 years old).

To learn more about Bevery Sills, to go: Beverly Sills Online

By the way, about two months later, on September 6, 2007, another great opera singer Luciano Pavarotti has died at 71 after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. There will never be anyone to impact the opera scene the same way that Sills or Pavarotti did.