Dakota Austin Johndrow, affectionately called “D” by his father, was born on July 21, 1992, in Tucson, Arizona to Malcolm Fletcher and Torie (Johndrow) Ellens.

  Dakota was diagnosed as profoundly deaf as an infant. Later testing revealed he had Ushers Syndrome which also caused a degenerative vision loss. Our faithful God equipped Dakota with parents who were determined to ensure that Dakota’s life was full of love and that he had the best of life’s opportunities that every parent desires for their child.

  Both parents learned sign language. “Light” was Dakota’s first word he signed. ”Light” characterizes the profound impact Dakota would have on everything during his life’s journey and every person who crossed his life’s path in his 22 years, 4 months, and 9 days.

  Dakota accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior at the age of 12. Later, he told his Grandma “J”, “You do not worry no more, Jesus will always take care of me. He is in my heart and with me forever.” His personal bible notes are evident of his quiet time with God. His favorite scripture was John 3:16.

  In 2010, Dakota graduated from Arizona School for Deaf and Blind, at the top of his class and with honors. With two scholarships, his dreams to attend Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) became a reality that September!

 At RIT, he excelled in the classroom and in the community: Dean’s list, Vice President of Latin America Deaf Club, community service director, student club and peer advisor, and Windows/Android reporter for DeafTechNews, He lived a full life of serving and caring for others.

  Dakota lived life with passion: from DC to Hawaii, hiking to tube surfing, computer building to designing and playing video games, cooking to sharing the gospel with anyone. His life personified that with God all things are possible.

 Dakota departed this life on Sunday, November 30, 2014, Rochester, NY.

He leaves a legacy of beautiful memories to:

Father: Malcolm Fletcher (April), Mother: Torie Ellens (Mike)

Brothers: Andrew Gerber and Derrick Fletcher

Sisters: Dallas and Lelani Sherrill and Sienna Fletcher

Grandparents: Donald and Jean Freshler; Anthony and Michealyn Johndrow

Great-grandmother: Willie Mae Fletcher

Special Love: Marrisa Protus

And a host of uncles, aunts, cousins, other relatives and friends.