Gloria Pascoe
| Personal information | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality |
 Australia | |||||||||
| Born |
19 February 1919 North Fitzroy | |||||||||
Medal record
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Gloria Una Pascoe (born 19 February 1919) [1] from Victoria is an Australian Paralympic vision impaired lawn bowler. She also suffered from epilepsy.[2]
She was born at the Salvation Army Hospital, North Fitzroy on the 19 February 1919.[1] Her parent were John and Cecil Gertrude Smith.[1] She was the youngest of six children - Jack, Oriel (known as Judy), Elsie, Roma and Vincent.[1] She grew up in the Greensborough area and went to Greensborough School.[1] At the age of 14, she left school and attended Stott's Business College to train as a typist.[1] In 1942, she married Alf Pascoe who was in the Air Force. Alf Pascoe died in 1988. She has a daughter and a son - Jennifer and Bruce.[1]
At the age of 9 whilst playing basketball in the school playground she lost consciousness. She was diagnosed as having epilepsy.[1] As her life progressed, her eyesight was deteriorating. At the age of 55, she became totally blind. She received assistance from the Association for the Blind in Kooyong on how to live without sight.[1] The Association formed a Blind Bowling Club and held its first Blind Bowls Championship at the St Kilda Bowling Club.[1] She played bowls four years before becoming totally blind. She was able to play pennant bowls with sighted bowlers.[1]
She was selected to participate in 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem and she won a gold medal in the Women's Singles B.[3] In 1981, she came first in the Victorian State Titles held at Footscray and as a result she was chosen to represent Australia at the Second World Blind Bowls Championships in England.[1] At the Championships she won a silver medal.[4] At the 1983 FESPIC Games, she won two gold medals.[1]
In 1983, she won the Progress Press Sports Star of the Year.[1] In 1987, the Association for the Blind bestowed on her Life Membership for services to the Association.[1] A book was published on her life - Gloria : light in the dark by Gloria Pascoe and Bruce Pascoe.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Pascoe, Gloria (2010). Gloria : light in the dark. Melbourne: Pascoe Publishing. ISBN 9780947087449.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Gloria : light in the dark by Gloria Pascoe and Bruce Pascoe.". Trove. http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/37218807.
- ↑ "Q.Pascoe". International Paralympic Committee Historical Results Database. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ↑ "Sport digest - bowls". Sydney Morning Herald. 27 August 1981. Retrieved 3 September 2012.