Jeannette F. Maitin, 91, advocate for Montgomery County’s developmentally disabled

Jeannette F. Maitin, 91, of Meadowbrook, a forceful advocate for the developmentally disabled, died Sunday, March 31, of pneumonia at Holy Redeemer Lafayette.

Mrs. Maitin was a firm believer in the ability of special-education students to succeed at jobs despite challenges.

In 1979, working from the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit in Norristown, where she was a vocational-services supervisor, she designed and coordinated programs to place special-needs students in settings where they could learn from the example of other workers and succeed despite distractions such as noise and movement.

“People said it wouldn’t work,” Mrs. Maitin told The Inquirer in 1993. “They said these students needed rote jobs.”

She sent the students to Thriftway and Genuardi’s markets, where they learned to stack produce and bag groceries, and to the Philadelphia Marriott West in West Conshohocken, where they were trained to strip bed linen, set up banquets, and do office and laundry chores.

“We have learned that students learn best in a real situation,” she said. “When you see other people working, you know what to do.”

She took the program a step further, creating a countywide job bank of employers and jobs that was shared with member school districts and county offices. Later, she developed a program to assess the strengths and weaknesses of special-needs students and the jobs for which they were best suited.

In March 1993, Mrs. Maitin was honored for her achievements by the Pennsylvania Association of Vocational Education Special Needs Personnel. The organization named her the Vocational Special Needs Support Person of the Year.

Born in Philadelphia, Mrs. Maitin graduated from Olney High School and earned a psychology degree in 1949 from Radcliffe College. She married Irving J. Maitin and put higher education on hold to raise their three daughters while working full time as a special-education administrator. She earned a master’s degree in special education in 1966 from Temple University.

“She had a very strong work ethic,” said daughter Karin Maitin Schnoll. “As kids, we were always proud of what she did for her ‘kids’ at work. Even though that meant she wasn’t always home to meet us after school, like many of our friends, she was always there to inspire us to work hard, be honest, and give back to the community.”

Mrs. Maitin retired in April 1993, but soon tired of feeling idle. When a part-time job opened as assistant supervisor of special education in the Upper Dublin School District, she grabbed it. In 1995, she told The Inquirer, “I like to be busy, I always have. I like to be involved with whatever is happening.”

Mrs. Maitin was active in local politics. She served two terms as a Democrat on the Abington school board from 2003 to 2013 and supported Josh Shapiro, now Pennsylvania’s attorney general, as he sought election to the office of state representative in Pennsylvania’s 153rd District. He took the seat in 2005.

“I first met Jeannette in 2003 during my first run for public office,” Shapiro said in an email. “My first local house party was in Jeannette’s living room. Jeannette was an adviser, a volunteer, and a revered member of our community. She taught me much about public education. I was strengthened by Jeannette’s guidance and confidence and think of her often. She will be missed.”

Mrs. Maitin was president of the Mental Health/Mental Retardation Board of Montgomery County in 2004 and served on the boards of the Association for Adults with Developmental Disabilities (AADD), the Settlement Music School, and the Visiting Nurse Association.

She received the 1994 Betty Linker Award, given to those whose actions have enhanced the lives of Montgomery County citizens with developmental disabilities.

In addition to her daughter, she is survived by daughter Ellen C. Maitin and four grandchildren. Mrs. Maitin’s husband died in 1999. A daughter, Gail, died in 2014.

A memorial service will be held later.

Contributions may be made to AADD, 261 Old York Rd., Suite 530, Jenkintown, Pa. 19046.