A Tribute to Sue Thomas

As a teenager, I eagerly sat down in front of my television with the closed caption decoder box - TeleCaptions II. The TeleCaptions II was stacked on top of the VCR player, plugged into the TV so I could watch any movie or show with closed captions. This was during early 2000’s - when closed captioning was just beginning to be available on some shows/movies - when I didn’t need to use the box every time.

One of the shows that I obsessively watched was ‘Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye’. It was a TV series based on the real life of Sue Thomas, a deaf woman who was a professional lip reader for the FBI in Washington D.C. She was the first deaf person to work undercover for the FBI.

Sue Thomas was born in Ohio in 1950, became profoundly deaf at 18 months for unknown reasons. She was raised orally - learning speech and lipreading. She wasn’t fluent in sign language. From 1979-1983 she worked for the FBI. In 1990 she wrote a memoir titled ‘Silent Night’ about her experiences.

The book was the inspiration for the TV series ‘Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye’. The show that I would grow up to watch and admire Sue. She was a deaf role model for me. Remember back then, with no internet or social media - I didn’t have any deaf role models to look up to. That only gave me Sue Thomas, Marlee Matlin and Heather Whitestone (Miss America 1995).

I loved the show. I was in awe that a deaf person was working for the FBI. At this point, my interest in criminal justice was well established. I wanted to follow in her steps and go work for the FBI. That goal stayed with me through out high school and half of my college years. I might’ve changed my path but Sue Thomas remained a large influence in my life.

Sue Thomas made her way to Heaven on December 13, 2022 at the age of 72. I am feeling very sad for losing one of my role models. She was an inspiring person with so much love and care for the world! I encourage you to re-watch the series (available for free on Tubi) or read her book ‘Silent Night’ (available on Amazon).

Thank you Sue Thomas for making such a positive impact. You will always be remembered.