Terry Brickley Santa Cruz Sentinel Article

Terry Brickley died of pneumonia Monday night at Dominican Hospital. Born in Palo Alto June 19, 1932, he spent most of his life in the Bay Area and the last 37 years in Santa Cruz. He loved living near the beautiful Monterey Bay. Terry had many friends, lovers and personas throughout his life. Some of his careers included industrial and architectural model maker, community activist, artist and psychotherapist. His death brings to an end a 43-year struggle with multiple sclerosis. Remarkably, being the forceful and assertive individual that he was, he did not let MS diminish his life, but rose to its challenge. His life was made bigger because of it.

Terry graduated from San Mateo High School and attended several junior colleges and Stanford University. He received his bachelor's degree from Antioch University in 1979 and an M.A. in 1982 from the Academy of Arts and Humanities with a degree and certification in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling. He was a practicing psychotherapist for almost 20 years, specializing in disability counseling and sexuality and disability issues.

Terry is well known to many in the community as a pioneering crusader for the rights of the disabled, beginning in the early 70s. In 1971 he founded and served as executive director for the nonprofit organization Adaptability Unlimited to be an educational resource and advocate for equal access, dignity and independence for the physically handicapped. From 1972 to 1982 he wrote a nationally syndicated column entitled "HANDICapsules," published locally in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the San Jose Mercury News and the Monterey Herald. Terry was instrumental in getting the first curb cuts, handicapped parking spaces, accessible public buildings, public toilets and buses throughout the county. City Halls, the County Government Center, public libraries, Cabrillo College and innumerable other public and commercial facilities bear his mark. Terry served on the Metropolitan Transit Board from 1975-1983 and, along with Transit Director Scott Galloway, was a catalyst for Santa Cruz's having the first fully accessible metropolitan transit system in the country and becoming a national model for other communities. Terry established a regional chapter of the California Association for Physically Handicapped (CAPH), now Californians for Disability Rights and was it s first director, as well as helped found the San Francisco chapter.

Terry worked actively at the state level CAPH organization to develop laws and codes for accessible buildings that were the underpinnings of the groundbreaking federal legislation, the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA). Along with fellow advocate Gary Klein and with support from the State Department of Rehabilitation, Terry conceived the Community Resources for the Disabled (CRD), now the Central Coast Center for Independent Living (CCCIL), a nonprofit clearinghouse of information and services for the disabled. With County Supervisor Gary Patton's Administrative Aide Andy Shiffrin in 1979, Terry helped create the County Commission on Disabilities as a consultation and advisory body to the County Board of Supervisors. In concert again with Gary Klein, Terry instigated the "Quad Squad" in 1977, an innovative pilot program to hire handicapped individuals to enforce parking regulations in Capitola Village. The program received national media attention at its inception and is still in operation. The Terry Brickley School for Exceptional Children was established through the County Board of Education in 1978.

On his sixty-fifth birthday in 1997, Terry was publicly recognized for 25 years of community advocacy work at a city- and county-proclaimed Terry Brickley Recognition Day, an event attended by over 200 people that included proclamations and accolades from national, state and local municipalities, organizations, agencies and individuals. Applauding Terry that day in a letter was Leon Panetta, former US Senator and Chief of Staff under President Clinton, in which he wrote: "In life, we are fortunate when we meet someone so committed to what he believes, that nothing...nothing will stop him from advancing his cause. That is Terry Brickley. He is tough, he is determined, and he will never rest till every person, regardless of his or her particular physical or mental challenge, is treated equally. His fight for equal treatment helped lead this fight at the local, state and national level. He is, along with the great beauty of this area, one of our natural treasures. It is fitting to pay tribute to this man for his unwavering commitment over the past thirty years that has enriched the lives of so many. We are a better community and society because of you. Thank you."

One of the presenters during that event, California Assemblyman John Laird, also testified to Terry's influence as an effective educator and activist for the disabled: "There are those people who have the ability to put others in their shoes. Terry did that. He invested in all of us, and we carried him into other situations. After awhile Terry didn't need to be in the room anymore, his investment in us was making good." County Supervisor Mike Rotkin, who served on the Transit Board during part of Terry's tenure, added "Terry was not just feisty. He studied things and understood how to make things work. Just being obnoxious doesn't get things done. You have to be right, know how to solve problems, and get people to join you in that process." Terry has a reputation as a pitbull, and he didn't care whether people liked him as long as they respected him. In his own words, Terry's goal was always "to assist change, and it doesn't make a difference if it's on a political level, at a city council meeting or on a personal level, counseling a couple. There will always be barriers, whether in architecture or attitude.

In 1983 Terry received the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Patient of the Year Award and immediately and successfully worked to expunge the identification of people with MS as "patients" from the MS Society's lexicon. He was one of two USA representatives to the International Federation of MS Societies meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1984. Terry was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Northern California MS Society in 1998. In 1987 Terry began taking art classes and studied with Coeleen Kiebert, Marianne Groh and several Cabrillo College instructors, including Don Thompson. Terry was a painter, a sculptor and collagist and had previously been a jewelry maker. He work was exhibited in numerous juried shows and galleries in Burlingame, San Jose and Capitola. Terry participated in the Cultural Council's Open Studios art tours for ten years and was juried into seven Statewide Exhibitions at the Santa Cruz Art League. In 1996 he won a County Arts Commission Award. Terry is survived by his life partner of 13 years and fellow artist and writer, Sally Jorgensen. She is currently completing a biography of Terry. He is also survived by his beloved daughter Tori Jo Bradford, who has recently moved from Brookdale to Londonderry, New Hampshire, with her husband Bill Bradford and son Terry Joseph (TJ). Terry is preceded in death by his creative and inspiring father and mother J. Terry Brickley and Evelyn Arkush Brickley, who resided in San Mateo.