We honor here members, friends and supporters of the American Council of the Blind who have impacted our lives in many wonderful ways. If you would like to submit a notice for this column, please include as much of the following information as possible.
- Name (first, last, maiden if appropriate)
- City of residence (upon passing)
- State/province of residence (upon passing)
- Other cities/states/countries of residence (places where other blind people may have known this person)
- Occupation
- Date of death (day if known, month, year)
- Age
- ACB affiliation (local/state/special-interest affiliates or national committees)
Deaths that occurred more than six months ago cannot be reported in this column.
Michael Joseph Hoenig
November 20, 1963 -- July 22, 2026
Michael "Mike" Joseph Hoenig, 62, of Davenport, passed away on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, surrounded by loved ones, following a long battle with cancer. A funeral service was held Thursday, July 30, 2026, at St. Paul Lutheran Church. Burial followed at Davenport Memorial Park Cemetery.
Mike was born on November 20, 1963, in Ft. Madison, Iowa, to the late Adrian and Marie (Becker) Hoenig. Following graduation from the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in 1980, he earned a BA in psychology from Central College (Pella, Iowa) in 1984 and an MA in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Iowa in 1987.
Mike devoted his career to advocating for the rights and equal treatment of people with disabilities. In his early 33-year tenure as a program coordinator at the University of Iowa Health Care Center for Disabilities and Development, he had the privilege of teaching people with disabilities how to speak up for themselves and to help students and practicing professionals understand how to support them.
In semi-retirement, Mike found his niche as a volunteer. He served as a member of the Iowa Commission for the Blind and Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council and as a secretary of Friendship Force of the Quad Cities. He was part of the "Caring Companions" team at St. Paul Lutheran Church and enjoyed volunteering at Hope at the Brick House where he read print/braille books to early elementary school students.
Mike loved life with a zeal which only grew as he aged. He was an avid St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan, and especially enjoyed catching up with friends and former players each year on the team-hosted cruise. An "old soul," Mike gravitated toward big band music, classic Broadway productions, and a good stiff Manhattan. He enjoyed playing cards with the proverbial "marked" braille deck, reading, and lively conversation.
Mike is survived by two sisters, Joyce (Hoenig) Patterson of Lake Placid, Fla. and Janet (Hoenig) St. Clair of Rock Springs, Wyo.; aunts Rosemary (Becker) Burden of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Betty (Freesmeier) Becker of West Point, Iowa, and Patricia (Fedler) Becker of Blue Grass, Iowa; numerous cousins; and special friend Phyllis Ahlstrand.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Quad City Sled Hockey Association or University of Iowa Health Care Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Kenneth W. Jessup
March 25, 1948 -- August 10, 2026
Kenneth "Ken" Jessup, 78, of Virginia Beach, Va., passed away on August 10, 2026 after a long and passionate life full of adventure and advocacy. He was born in Greensboro, N.C., and raised by his parents, Robert and Lillian Jessup. After only a few weeks, he and his parents relocated to Virginia Beach. During his adolescent years, he took up the sport of wrestling, and graduated from Cox High School. He also continued to wrestle through his college years at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Out of college, Ken became an entrepreneur of sorts. He was the proud owner of 5 ARCO gas stations in the '70s. During that time, he often biked to work since he could not drive. He then became self-employed through Business Opportunities for the Blind (B.O.B.), operating several coffee shops located in the Tidewater area in the '90s. He found great joy in "doing what he can, because he could." Ken was not one to let anything in life stop him. He became a lobbyist for environmental causes in Tennessee, where he created and started up many business opportunities for people with visual impairments. He participated in and led several commissions and councils for the blind.
He was president of the Virginia Beach Mayor's Committee for Persons with Disabilities. Ken wrote a book called "It Was Just a Phase" based on his life experience as a lobbyist. He loved chatting with his friends online called "Al's Blind Cafe." He was a Master Mason with Princess Anne Chapter No. 25 in Virginia Beach.
While Ken had no children of his own, he had two loves in his life: his loving wife, Faye, with whom he spent 38 years of pure bliss and adventure, and his beloved cat, Beaux. He and Faye loved to travel. Ken loved to listen to Jimmy Buffett, and Faye remembers taking many memorable trips together. One of Faye's fondest memories is when they took ballroom dance classes together in their early years of marriage. They capped this off with dancing the waltz at the annual Christmas recital at the Fred Astaire Studio in 1992 to the song, "Greensleeves."
Left behind to cherish his memory are his loving wife, Faye Adams; his cat Beaux; sister Evelyn Watkins; and sister Joy Rowland (Al); brothers Marty Ayscue (Ann), and Randy Ayscue (Faye); and nephew Jay Ayscue (Jessica), as well as countless cousins and other friends.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity of your choice in Ken's honor, or to the Parkinson's Foundation.