Tony Jorgensen
Came for a Cane and Found a Career
By Suzanne Yeagley
In 1977, Tony Jorgensen stopped by The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc., hoping to find a cane that could help him navigate at night. Tony was 22 at the time and had Retinitis Pigmentosa, which he’d been dealing with all his life. Tony took a tour of the facilities, and Bob Johnson, then the Rehabilitation Manager, offered Tony a job. More than 40 years later Tony is still here, working in Human Resources department and helping others follow in his footsteps.
Tony was born in Norway and immigrated to Seattle in 1957. He spoke only Norwegian until age four, eventually learning English from his friends, neighbors, and from watching TV.
When Tony first started at the Lighthouse he did entry-level production work. His vision was deteriorating but he can still remember reading his first paycheck, using his remaining tunnel vision and a strong hallway lamp to bring the numbers into focus.
Tony spent his first ten years in manufacturing, making step ladders, easels, hand trucks, and binders. In those days, most of the main floor was used for office supply and military production, and the machine shop was a fraction of what it is today.
In 1987, Tony lost his remaining eyesight, just as he transferred to the Machine Shop. His move coincided with the Lighthouse adopting accessible measuring equipment, and he spent the next ten years learning how to set up mills to produce aircraft parts.
In 1998, Tony joined the newly-formed Vocational Training Program (VTP), where he taught computer skills and assisted with teaching advanced machinist skills. This move from the machine shop to a staff position also earned him Employee of the Year in 1999.
In 2000, he joined Human Resources as a recruiter and generalist, and has been there ever since.
“Employment has enabled me to be independent, expand my professional career, and has enhanced my life in many ways,” Tony says.
When he’s not at work, Tony enjoys reading talking books from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress.
When he first started listening to talking books in the 1970s, he says, “we had clunky vinyl records and went through the cassette tape era. Now it’s digital, online, and super-convenient and efficient. We go on the internet to check out books, downloading onto a digital player from the website. Quite a journey for talking books.”
“I also love music,” he says. “I have been an audiophile for decades, acquiring a sophisticated stereo system. Again, progressing from the 60s vinyl records to cassette, to CD, to streaming music from the internet.”
Tony and his wife have two grown children: a 26-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old son. They also have two superb cats, whom Tony calls “iconoclastic.” The family lives in Mukilteo, a small town north of Seattle.