Anna Capell, an activist from the Bronx, passed away in September following a bout with pneumonia. She was reportedly in her 80s.
Capell was born with a spinal disorder and has been a quadriplegic for the majority of her life. According to Co-op City News, doctors purportedly told Capell’s parents that she would not live to turn 18, and so it was unnecessary to send her to school.
Capell’s parents ignored that advice, and she went on to earn a Bachelor's degree from the College of New Rochelle and work for Citibank.
Capell was the founder and head of the Co-op City Handicapped Adults Association and an advocate for improving quality of life for people with disabilities. She was involved in efforts such as making the Bay Plaza movie theater accessible to people with disabilities.
A two-day wake was held at the New Apostolic Church in the Bronx, and a memorial service was planned for mid-October.
Arthur Taub, a leader in the community, told the Co-op City News, “The most important thing you can say about Anna Capell is that she lived a very active and productive life. She did for those who were disabled, and she did for those who were not disabled. With Anna Capell's death, we have lost one of the pillars of Co-op City. We now have one less person to work for improvements in our community's quality of life.”
Sally Regenhard, another civic leader in the community, was quoted in the Co-op City News obituary saying, “Anna lived a wonderful life of activism, but her concerns weren't restricted to the disabled. She was concerned about every issue in Co-op City. To her credit, she steered clear of the factionalism that, all too often, has divided the Co-op City community. Her special passions were the fights she waged for the implementation and enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
Regenhard added, “I was awed by Anna Capell and what she accomplished. She was deeply religious in the best sense of the word, and I learned so much from her. She was extremely knowledgeable about city, state, and federal laws, as well as politics. She demanded that things be done the right way.”
This article was published in the January 2011 issue of Able News.
Comments