Sophia Myers; Advocate for the Blind

Sophia Myers, whose own vision loss inspired her to found the San Fernando Valley’s first educational facility for visually impaired adults, has died at a West Hills hospital. She was 92.

A longtime North Hollywood resident, Mrs. Myers died Sunday of complications of her advanced age, said her daughter, Leslie Wolf of Calabasas.

Born in New York, Mrs. Myers worked as a cartoon animator and in the late 1940s came to California, where she owned and operated two women’s clothing stores. In 1965, she developed an eye condition that left her legally blind with very limited peripheral sight.

After five years of having to travel to a center for the blind in Los Angeles, Mrs. Myers decided to open a facility in the Valley with the help of volunteers and government grants. In 1972, she began a group called the Visually Handicapped Adults of the Valley in borrowed classrooms at the Salvation Army in Van Nuys.

“I know how easy it is to live in a state of dark depression, but fortunately I’ve never been one to quit,” Mrs. Myers said in a 1973 Times interview. “Oh, of course, I spent almost a year after losing my sight thinking I would be able to see again, but then one day I realized it wasn’t going to happen and I called the Department of Rehabilitation and in no time was teaching cooking and home economics.”

Now situated at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Van Nuys, the center provides assistance for the visually impaired over age 50, including classes and free transportation. Mrs. Myers retired as acting director 2 1/2 years ago due to ill health. All her work for the blind was performed as a volunteer.

She was the recipient of the Jefferson Award for Humanitarian Causes, KNX Radio’s “Citizen of the Week,” Ethel Bradley’s “Woman of the Year” award and several proclamations by local and state officials.

In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Myers is survived by her sons, Charles Stern of Sunland and Tom Myers of Portland, Ore., eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Her husband, Tom Myers Sr., died in 1975.

A funeral was held Wednesday with burial at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills. Groman-Eden Mortuary handled the arrangements. Donations can be made to the Sophia Myers Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 9023, Calabasas 91302.