Click on any legend's name to learn more about her life.
Judy Kunza
Age at Death: 72 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: WisconsinJudy was employed by Western Publishing Company for 12 years and was the owner of Jo’Dees for 40 years, the only gay/lesbian bar in Racine. …
Sandra Eldredge
Age at Death: 73 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: WISandy Eldredge lived a life that was deeply connected to the natural world. In addition to her roles as mother, grandmother, lover, and friend, Sandy …
Heidi Jo Shelton
Age at Death: 35 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: UTHeidi Jo Shelton was an avid photographer and loved the outdoors and sports, including camping, skiing, boating and the Denver Broncos. She was a proud …
Bettie Naylor
Age at Death: 84 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: TXA member of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force as well as many other LGBT organizations, Bettie Naylor was an influential figure in Texan …
Barbara Jordan
Age at Death: 59 | Year of Death: 1996 | State last lived in: TXBarbara Jordan was the first African American woman elected to the Texas Senate and the first African American woman from a Southern state elected to …
Cary Lund
Age at Death: 71 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: PAAn outspoken member of the Pittsburgh lesbian community, Cary received a B.A. from The University of Pittsburgh in her self-designed major of Women’s Studies, Labor …
Therese Edell
Age at Death: 61 | Year of Death: 2011 | State last lived in: OHTherese Edell was a pioneer in Women’s Music and well-known in association with the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. She was both a performer and a …
Lois C. Gaudinier
Age at Death: 59 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: NYLois C. Gaudinier, who was also known as Dragon Fire, was an Aries feminist, astrologer, and herbalist. She loved science fiction, soap opera, and chocolate …
Thea C. Spyer
Age at Death: 77 | Year of Death: 2009 | State last lived in: NYA clinical psychologist whose practice continued until her passing, Thea was also an avid violinist, and golfer and dancer before she was diagnosed with multiple …
Carol Sciacca
Age at Death: 63 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: NJCarol Sciacca was a landscape artist and a supporter of peace, justice, and human rights causes. She loved animals, the outdoors, and was skilled as …
Rosemary Curb
Age at Death: 72 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: New MexicoAlso known as Rosemary Keefe, Dr. Rosemary Keefe Curb, was co-editor of one of the bestselling lesbian books of all time, Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence, …
Joyce Trebilcot
Age at Death: 76 | Year of Death: 2009 | State last lived in: MOJoyce Trebilcot, PhD, was co-founder of the women’s studies program at Washington University in St Louis and was the first woman to become a tenured …
Ellen Louise Pence
Age at Death: 63 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: MNEllen Pence was dedicated to ending violence against women and with others organized the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project in Duluth, commonly referred to as the …
Louise M. Hunkins
Age at Death: 75 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: MNLouise “Tookie” Hunkins returned to Minnesota to enjoy family and friends in her retirement after a 45-year career working in New York City for Time, …
Chavela Vargas
Age at Death: 93 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: MexicoChavela Vargas was a ranchera singer who broke through stereotypes about women Mexican singers. A recipient of multiple music awards, Vargas refused to change pronouns …
Reva Calesky
Age at Death: 73 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: MassachusettsReva L. Calesky owned and operated Feminist Financial Consultants in New York City for many years and had a great love of music, theater, and …
Sarah Dreher
Age at Death: 75 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: MassachusettsSarah Dreher was a clinical psychologist and lesbian writer best known for her award-winning mystery series featuring amateur sleuth “Stoner McTavish.”
Donna “Woody” Woodward
Age at Death: 64 | Year of Death: 2009 | State last lived in: MAWoody Woodward was an avid world traveler and motorcyclist, a founding member of the women’s Moving Violations Motorcycle Club of Boston, and worked as a …
Mary Daly
Age at Death: 81 | Year of Death: 2010 | State last lived in: MAMary Daly was a radical feminist theologian who taught at Boston College for 33 years. Dedicated to lifelong scholarship that involve the examination of misogyny …
Alice Lee Brady
Age at Death: 84 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: LAAlice Lee Brady owned a series of bars in New Orleans—The Mascarade Bar, Alice Brady’s, Mr. D’s Hide-A-Way, Brady’s—in which gay customers could safely gather …
Cynthia Pallick
Age at Death: 53 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: ILCynthia Pallick was a proud gay parent and a former Calumet City, IL, alderman. She was passionate about community issues and supported many causes, including …
Debra E. Lang
Age at Death: 55 | Year of Death: 2010 | State last lived in: ILDebra Lang was an emergency room and flight nurse at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL, and courageously battled metastatic breast cancer for 11 years. …
Elaine Sue Stocker
Age at Death: 69 | Year of Death: 2011 | State last lived in: ILElaine Stocker, DN, established Healing Hands Holistic Health Center in 1979 and was a licensed Doctor of Naprapathy. She loved drumming and was known for …
Janis Monaldi
Age at Death: 60 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: FLJan Monaldi loved nature, had a brilliant dry sense of humor, and was proud to be a lesbian.
Maureen Dursi
Age at Death: 66 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: FLMaureen Dursi’s sense of adventure led to a life of travel—including to Buenos Aires as a young woman, to Alaska for for 10+ years as …
Rosemari (Sunni) Hansen
Age at Death: | Year of Death: 2011 | State last lived in: FLSunni Hansen was active in the publication Womyn’s Words and was known for her column, “News Notes from Sunni.” She loved animals, her own and …
Mindy Lederman
Age at Death: 56 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: FLMindy Lederman was a true Renaissance woman—an art teacher, food connoisseur, artist, sculptress, and massage therapist among other life endeavors. Mindy lived a life full …
Jeanne Brelsford
Age at Death: 54 | Year of Death: 2013 | State last lived in: FLJeanne’s love of life included her partner Kim, her motorcycle and activities with the Jacksonville HOG, her classic corvette, her four dogs, traveling in her …
Barbara Gittings
Age at Death: 74 | Year of Death: 2007 | State last lived in: DEBarbara Gittings was known as “…the mother of the GLBT civil rights movement.” A librarian by training, Barbara founded the New York chapter of the Daughters of …
Jean Harris
Age at Death: 66 | Year of Death: 2011 | State last lived in: CaliforniaJean Harris was known as “the lesbian Al Sharpton” for her flamboyant and confrontational style. A native of California’s Orange County, Harris was influential in …
Sharon L. Sievers
Age at Death: 71 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: CaliforniaSharon L. Sievers was a history professor who helped pioneer women’s studies at Cal State Long Beach in the early 1970s and with others later …
Susan M. Kuhner
Age at Death: | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: CASusan M. Kuhner had a PhD in psychology and founded the Kuhner Institute of Multiple Personalities in Los Angeles. She loved to sing, dance, and …
Renee Hanover
Age at Death: 84 | Year of Death: 2011 | State last lived in: CAAn inductee in the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame (1991), Renee Hanover was “…one of Chicago’s most cherished lesbian activists. She worked inside …
Adrienne Rich
Age at Death: 82 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: CAAdrienne Rich, for whom the personal, the political and the poetical were indelibly linked, was a socially conscious writer whose poetry influenced a generation of …
Kim Marshall
Age at Death: 59 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: CAKim Marshall was a feminist entrepreneur who was referred to as the “Mother of Computer Graphics”; she was politically active–believed strongly in the defeat of …
Luanne Blaich
Age at Death: 51 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: CALuanne was active in the Reclaiming Community, wished to be remembered as a Feminist-Witch, and was known by her friends and family for her love …
Kathy Bartlett Rardin
Age at Death: 67 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: CAKathy Rardin, with her partner Kristen Loomis, created a Gay Info Line in Solano Country, CA, opened the Vacaville Book Company, and helped to found …
Roseann Carcello
Age at Death: | Year of Death: 2011 | State last lived in: CARoseanna was a founding member of The L-Word, an ongoing Humboldt County, CA, lesbian newsletter. She had natural talent in music and art and was …
Judy Freespirit
Age at Death: 74 | Year of Death: 2010 | State last lived in: CAJudy Freespirit was co-author of the 1973 Fat Liberation Manifesto and a leader of the feminist fat liberation movement. A poet and an activist, Judy …
Frances Ann Day
Age at Death: 68 | Year of Death: 2010 | State last lived in: CAFrances Ann Day was an educator, activist, and writer dedicated to lesbian causes and culture. She was an editor of Sinister Wisdom, an author of …
Jenifer Diers
Age at Death: 54 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: CAJenifer Diers was a social worker, teacher, and lover of literature. With her partner Esther Martino, Jenifer enjoyed spending time with friends and family, traveling, …
Donna Marie Piepgras
Age at Death: 63 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: CADonna Marie Piepgras was a devoted special education teacher who also was an active member of the Center for Spiritual Living where she served as …
Gloria Anzaldúa
Age at Death: 61 | Year of Death: 2004 | State last lived in: CAGloria Anzaldúa was a Chicana feminist-lesbian editor and writer perhaps best known for co-editing, with Cherríe Moraga, the landmark book This Bridge Called My Back: …
Susan Carol “Subie” Baker
Age at Death: 63 | Year of Death: 2012 | State last lived in: CASubie Baker was an architectural engineer who handled the challenge of experiencing a complete spinal cord injury with grace and resourcefulness. Supported by her partner …
Ellen “Mary” Martinez
Age at Death: 68 | Year of Death: 2010 | State last lived in: CAA 25-year member of LB PRIDE, Ellen “Mary” Martinez was a political activist and advocate for the gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender community. In May 2012, Martinez was honored …