Courting Nikki

She's been with the ancestors for the last seven months and her 44 year life was way too short for all of us who loved her, but Nikki Araguz Loyd will never be forgotten by me or anyone in our community.

She will also not be forgotten for her ginormous contribution to trans rights for us trans Texans.  It was her tenacious and ultimately successful six year legal fight in the Delgado v Araguz case that secured marriage rights for us here in the Lone Star State.

Courting Nikki is a short documentary by Cressandra Thibodeaux that follows Nikki through this case.  It also brought back some memories for me of that time and the amazing complex woman I was blessed  to call my friend.

This documentary video was shown at Nikki's memorial service

Rest In Power Sarah DePalma

We in the Houston trans community knew this day was coming because she had been valiantly battling Parkinson's Disease since 2006, but it still hurts to write this post announcing the death of one of our pioneering trans leaders in Sarah DePalma.

DePalma passed away Sunday night, and the woman I call 'Mommy Sarah' was another one of our Houston based kick butt trans advocates who also had trailblazing national and statewide reach. 

She and another Houston trans trailblazer in Phyllis Frye met in the late 1980's, and the two Aggies formed a lasting friendship as a result.   By 1993 DePalma was upping her own activism game and heading to Austin to push for changes in our state laws that would benefit transgender people.

She was also giving the lesbian and gay community in Houston and nationally hell for their exclusionary anti-trans attitudes in the 90's and early 2000's.  We successfully fought a pitched battle for inclusion in the Houston GLBT caucus during that time while calling HRC out for their anti-trans stances.

DePalma was the founder of and Executive Director of It's Time Texas, which later became TGAIN (Transgender Advocacy Information Network) and is now TENT (Transgender Education Network of Texas)  She also led It's Time America, one of the early trans advocacy groups formed in the 1990's.

My first Texas Lobby day was in 1999, but she was already a veteran lobbyist at the state and national level by the time I met her.   Where Sarah and I connected in addition to her being one of my early trans advocacy mentors was as the co-host of KPFT-FM's After Hours show with the late Jimmy Carper.   

She leaves behind her longtime partner Lori, and a host of people who loved her.   As of yet don't know when her memorial service is going to happen, but will definitely be there to pay my last respects to her.

We've lost another of our trans pioneers.  Rest in power and peace, Sarah. .

Rest In Power Babs Siperstein

Was saddened to hear from Marisa Richmond that one of our trans elders and pioneer leaders in Barbra Casbar 'Babs' Siperstein passed away last night in New Brunswick, New Jersey at age 76  just days after the Babs Siperstein Law went into effect on Friday.

The Babs Siperstein Law allows trans New Jersey residents to change the gender marker on their birth certificates without needing to have genital surgery to do so.   It also adds the option to have an 'X' marker for gender non conforming people.

And yes, this one is personal because I knew her.  When she joined the transcestors, she was surrounded by family, friends, and her longtime partner Dorothy

She was an Army vet who transitioned in 2000, and I last saw Babs in person at the 2016 LGBT Pride Reception at the White House .  During that time we spent together she thanked me for doing my part to lead this community.   |I thanked her for being a role model and leader for my generation of trans people, her work in the Democratic Party, and helping to pass the trans inclusive laws they enjoy in New Jersey.

She was a leader and trailblazer in our community for nearly 20 years.   She founded the Gender Rights Advocacy Association of New Jersey in 2000.   She was one of the founding members of Garden State Equality in 2004

She had been involved in Democratic Party politics in New Jersey for a long time.   In addition to being a delegate at the last four Democratic national conventions, she became the first out transperson to serve on the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2017  She was part of the DNC's Executive Committee from 2011-2017, and was a Hillary Clinton superdelegate in the 2016 presidential election cycle,

She was a supporter of Sen. Cory Booker, who called her before she died.   During out DC conversation she also dropped some insider knowledge on me concerning one of his votes he's getting excoriated about by the far left.

Sen. Booker  wrote this comment about her last year.

"Babs is a leader, a trailblazer, and a role model for an entire generation of New Jerseyans. If you don’t know her, you probably know someone touched in some way by her tireless activism. It’s an honor to know her, to work with her, and to call her my friend. Here’s to many more years of activism to come and to a legacy that has changed the lives of so many.”

Rest in power and peace, Babs.   You've earned it. 

Sir Lady Java Interview

Sir Lady Java was one of our trans pioneers and elders who worked with Lena Horne, Redd Foxx and others as the premiere female illusionist of the 60s and 70's.

She was not only #BlackTransExcellence in her day, Lady Java was also a trans rights warrior, helping to take down the odious LAPD Rule Number 9.

Lady Java is still with is.  She's living in Los Angeles these days and now doing interviews talking about her life and 'her people' as she calls girls like us. 

Check out this

Trans Pioneer Dainna Cicotello Has Passed Away

One of the joys of my visit to Denver for the 2015 Creating Change Conference and a few months later at Fantasia Fair was spending some quality time with Dainna Cicotello and her daughter Laurie.

She celebrated her milestone 70th birthday back in September, but  I was shocked and saddened to hear from Laurie that Dainna was seriously ill to the point that she was being put in hospic care.

I was just informed that Dainna passed away this afternoon at the Denver Hospice.

Dainna served our country in the US Navy for over a decade, transitioned in 1985 and served our community and the people in the Denver area in terms of doing panels, trainings and consulting work.   She also taught those classes at several trans themed conferences such as ICTLEP (International Conference of Transgender Law and Employment Policy) IFGE (International Foundations for Gender Education) , Colorado Gold Rush, Southern Comfort, the Texas T Party and Fantasia Fair

She's also done radio and television interviews as part of that education effort

Dainna was also part of the working group in the early 90's that sought to create a modern definition for transgender that would satisfy the trans stakeholder constituent groups at the time

Here's a 2011 TransFM interview Ethan St Pierre did with Dainna.

I het her during the 1999 Southern Comfort conference, and met Laurie a year later at the IFGE one being held in Washington DC.  She was one of my activist mentors I have much love and respect for, and one of the people her work made a better world for was me.

She is going to be missed by me, Laurie, our community  and all the people who loved her, and as soon as I get the word of a memorial service or other arrangements, I'll pass it on.

Rest in power and peace Dainna

Neuroscientist Dr. Ben Barres Dies

We've lost another of our trans elders and pioneers in Stanford University neuroscientist Dr. Ben Barres. 

Dr Barres passed away at age 63 on December 27, 20 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

Dr Barres focused his research on the cells in the brain that aren't nerve cells, called glia cells.  That research would revolutionize the field of neurobiology 

He authored over 167 peer reviewed papers during his career and was elected to membership in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.

If we eventually find a cure for Alzheimer's and other neurological conditions, Dr Barres' research into glial cells will be indispensable in putting scientists on the path for doing so.

As a trans masculine person, he was a champion for marginalized groups in academia and society, and will be missed by his colleges and all who loved him.

Happy 75th Birthday Miss Major! You're Still F*****g Here!

Y'all know I have much love and respect for my trans elder Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, and pick up the phone to call and check in on her from time to time.  Sometimes she does the reverse and calls to check up on me. 

Today it was me calling her to wish her a happy 75th birthday, and was disappointed when I got her voice mail.  But I left a message and started writing this post.

Happy birthday Miss Major!  It's nice to see that your story is finally being told for posterity and the historical record.  Thank you and your generation of trans women for being out and proud in an era that seriously discouraged it with anti-crossdressing laws and anti-trans repression.

Thank you for being a mentor to my generation of trans kids, and telling us our history so we can pass it on to the next generation of trans kids.

Those kids are at this moment raising the expectation bar even higher on what it means to be an unapologetically Black trans person

And finally, thanks to the Creator for blessing you with the ability to still be f*****g here, gracing us with your presence, checking in on me and others from time to time, and telling your story.

Thank you for also being an inspiration to all of us and reminding us and the world that trans people didn't just pop up all of a sudden in the late 20th century.  We've always been f*****g here and part of the community.

Happy birthday Miss Major!  May you have many more of them!

RIP Aleshia Brevard

Maybe the question of gender is just that simple; a need for everything to match..feeling you're complete as the person you've always known yourself to be.  Christine Jorgensen, indeed all the early sisters and brothers, paved the way.  The community has been blessed with an opportunity for making wonderful choices.
-Aleshia Brevard, November 14, 2008   

On Saturday July 1 we lost a trans pioneer and elder in actress, model, director and writer Aleshia Brevard at age 79 in Santa Cruz, CA.   She peacefully passed away in her sleep.

As of this writing, no word on when a memorial service is happening for this trans pioneer and icon.

She was one of the initial group of people to undergo SRS in the United States, having done so under the care of Harry Benjamin in 1962. .

Aleshia was born in the Appalachian mountains of eastern Tennessee on December 9, 1937 but grew up on a farm in rural middle Tennessee.  She headed west to California immediately after her high school graduation and found work at the renowned Finocchio's female impersonation club in San Francisco under the stage name Lee Shaw.

She quickly became a headliner at the club, where she worked for three years until she left to head to Los Angeles for her gender confirmation surgery.

After SRS and a year of recovery in Tennessee, she enrolled in and graduated from Middle Tennessee State with a BA in Arts in 1965, later earned a Masters of Arts degree from Marshall University in 1976, and taught theater as a university professor.

Her first acting role was in the 1969 movie The Love God, and Aleshia not only went on to act in seven additional films, but perform in Broadway shows and appear on televisions shows like The Partridge Family, Night Gallery, and the ABC soap One Life To Live.

Because of the transition protocols of the time, she basically lived her non disclosed trans life outside the trans community until her 2001 autobiography The Woman I Was NOT Born To Be -A Transsexual Journey was released and revealed to the community and the world that she was a girl like us.  She wrote a sequel to that memoir in 2010 entitled The Woman I Was Born To Be.  

She also wrote a novel entitled Bilbo's Bend in 2013 in addition to five stage plays, and directed numerous theater productions.

You can check out Monika Kowalska's five part interview with Aleshia here which discusses her amazing life in five parts

I also have to close out this post about her with a comment from her AlesiaBrevard.com Aleshia Speaks section of her site that she wrote on November 14, 2008.

'Why not choose to be proud?  By respecting ourselves we'll ensure that future generations will have no need for that 'T' before their name,they'll need no hyphen, there'll be no stigma. Please allow this crone with a green thumb one final analogy--we're all weeds growin' in a  patch.  Some are brambles, some dandelions, some may even be marijuana - but we're weeds each and every one --plain ol' garden variety men and women   

Rest in power and peace, Aleshia.  I wish I'd gotten the opportunity to meet you before you departed this Earth.   I do admire you tremendously for living your life well and being a trailblazing role model to the current generation of trans actresses who are trying to follow in your pioneering Hollywood and Broadway footsteps

You've earned your rest my sister, and all who were blessed to get to know you will miss you.

Rest In Power Trans Pioneer Alina Maria 'Cachita' Hernandez

Another one of our trans trailblazers has joined the ancestors in television actress Alina Maria Hernandez at age 46.   She was found by a friend on October 8 at her home in North Carolina.
The cause of death for Hernandez has not been determined because according to reports her relatives are traveling enroute there from Cuba.

Hernandez was one of the first trans icons on Spanish language television, and was on the popular show El Gordo y El Flaca as 'Cachita' for 10 years.

She got her start as the winner of a singing contest on Don Francisco's longtime hit Univision show Sabado Gigante.  

Despite winning that $500 first prize on that show, Hernandez was a still struggling actress when she got her big break in 1999 replacing host Lili Estefan, who had gone on maternity leave to have her first child.



Hernandez's appearance was so popular that she ended up being part of the El Gordo y El Flaca show cast for another decade.  In addition to dishing gossip on that show, she also worked various Latinx awards shows and wrote a column for TVnotas

After being on the show, she decided to step away from the camera until last year, when she gave an exclusive Univision interview explaining that she was transgender.




Rest in power and peace Cachita.  You will be missed by all who loved you.

Linda Phillips Celebration Of Life Service Set For October 15

I posted here about the recent death of one of our trans community pioneers in Linda Phillips, who along with her amazing spouse Cynthia ran the San Antonio area based group the Boulton and Park Society and the Texas T Party Convention.

The San Antonio based Texas T Party was the largest trans themed convention in the world from 1988 until the mid 90's.

This is the article written about her in the San Antonio Express-News.

Cynthia Phillips contacted me this morning, and wanted me to let you TransGriot readers know that the date, time and location for Linda's Celebration of Life Service has been set.

It will be held starting at 1 PM on October 15, 2016 at the Metropolitan Community Church San Antonio.  The address of the church is 611 E. Myrtle St. in San Antonio, TX.

If you are in the San Antonio area or just wish to come and pay your respects on that day to one of our trans community pioneers here in Texas and nationally, I urge you to do so.

This is the obituary for Linda Phillips.  

In lieu of flowers, donations are asked for the Bulverde Area Humane Society, P. O. Box 50, Bulverde, TX 78163 (which she helped build); or Transgender Education Network of Texas, 102 Wonder World Dr. #304-174, San Marcos, TX 78666; or The Center-Pride Center San Antonio, 1002 N. Flores St., San Antonio, TX 78212

Tracey Africa Norman Hired Again As Face Of Clairol!

Woke up to the fabulous news that one of my trailblazing trans elders in Tracey Africa Norman is  being hired once again as a face of Clairol!

The Cut is reporting that Clairol called Tracey and asked her at age 63, just short of her fast approaching birthday, to come back and be the face of their Clairol Nice 'n Easy "Color As Real As You Are' campaign.

Wow!  So happy this amazing blessing has happened for her!

I wrote about Tracey on these TransGriot pages starting in May 2010 after seeing the video interview she'd done with The Luna Show about her amazing modeling career we trans people didn't know about because of her nondisclosed status at the time.

For those of you who aren't aware of it, time for a trans history moment ,

Back in the 70's and 80's, Tracey was not only the face of Clairol, but had contracts with Avon Cosmetics, Ultra Sheen and had graced five ESSENCE magazine covers.

But adhering to the prevailing trans community transition protocols at the time, she was undisclosed while doing so.

Her booming modeling career was messed up by a transphobic hater who outed her to then ESSENCE managing editor Susan L. Taylor in the early 80's while shooting a sixth ESSENCE cover.

While Susan L Taylor claimed in a subsequent interview that she supported Tracey, the ESSENCE actions post outing don't support her words, and modeling work for Tracey immediately in the wake of that outing dried up..

Hey ESSENCE, here's an idea.  How about making it right by inviting Tracey to shoot that cover that was so rudely interrupted?  

Here's the new Clairol video featuring Tracey.




While I understand what the transition protocols were at the time, it would have been amazing for teenage me to know there were trans women like Tracey out there who not only existed, but had thriving careers.

But I am happy to know that me simply documenting the Black trans history that she made as part of the long stylish line of trans models may have been the catalyst for this day.  

I hope I get the opportunity, honor and pleasure to one day meet my trans elder, hug her, and thank her for clearing the way for trans models to work openly as who they are even with all the challenges they face,

I also want to thank Tracey for being a possibility model to mine and the next generations of Black trans kids, and hope this Clairol opportunity leads to more work for her..

Donahue Show: Tula

During its 26 years of syndication from 1970-1996, The Phil Donahue Show was considered the gold standard when it came to talk shows.  

The wonderful thing about Donahue was that because he was a journalist and newscaster before he quit to start the show, when he covered trans issues and people, he did so in an intelligent and  respectful way for the time period.

Here's video of the show in which he interviewed trans pioneer, author, advocate, Bond Girl and model Caroline Cossey.

Trans Icon Holly Woodlawn Passes Away

Been hearing the mounting bad news that trans actress, icon and Warhol muse Holly Woodlawn was ill with cancer, and her health had been deteriorating for the last few months.

Was sad to hear of her passing today at 3:06 PM PST in Los Angeles at age 69.

Woodlawn in addition to being a girl like us, was the inspiration for the Lou Reed song Walk On The Wild Side, and her life was chronicled in the 1991 documentary A Life In High Heels.

She was born in Puerto Rico in 1946 and raised in Miami Beach, FL.  She ran away from home and hitchhiked to New York, linked up with Andy Warhol and became one of his superstars.




Woodlawn starred in the 1970's underground classic movies Trash (1970) and Women In Revolt (1972) along with performing on the New York and Los Angeles cabaret circuits..  

While Woodlawn received critical acclaim for those film roles, she struggled to turn it into mainstream success and moved back to Miami in 1979.  She did make a comeback into public consciousness starting in the 1990's with the rise of queer and independent films, and most recently had a role on the show Transparent.

Rest in power and peace, Holly Woodlawn.

Lauren Foster's 'Just Another Girl' Website Goes Live Tomorrow

Lauren Foster has led a very interesting life since she transitioned in her native South Africa in her teens.  She worked (and still does) as a print and runway fashion model walking runways in Europe, South America and the USA.

 If her name is familiar to you trans younglings, she was on television on the Real Housewives Of Miami, had a five page VOGUE spread, starred in three art films directed by Joseph Lally, launched the GLAAD Miami Leadership Council with Omar Sharif, Jr and Marysol Patton and is currently writing her memoir entitled Just Another Girl.

And launching tomorrow is a revolutionary one stop shop website with the same name, that I was graciously given a preview of by Lauren entitled justanothergirl.org

The website not only has links to Lauren's personal story, but information concerning facial feminization and SRS surgeons, trans specific legal information, and beauty tips. Basically it's like GOOP for #GirlsLikeUs

"The goal was to set up a website with no graphic content that young people could access and show to their parents as part of their Trans 101 educational process," said Lauren to me in a recent conversation we had about the launch.

Well, she succeeded in that goal, and you'll get to see it when the site launches tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to reading her memoir when she's completed it.

Melissa Sklarz Elected ESPA Foundation Board Co-Chair!

The trans rights movement momentum continues forward despite the desperate attempts of our misguided oppressors to stop it.

Megacongratulations go out to Melissa Sklarz, who was elected the co-chair of the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation's Board of Directors.

It marks the first time in the 25 year history of the organization that a trans person has been tapped to lead it.

Sklarz will serve alongside Norman C. Simon, a partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, who has served as Co-Chair of the Foundation Board since 2013 and was reelected to a third term at last weekend’s board meeting.

Sklarz is no stranger to breaking barriers.  In September 1999, she was the first transgender person to be elected to office in the New York Democratic Party.  Sklarz also was the first transgender delegate from New York to the Democratic National Convention in 2004.  In 2008, she was co-chair of Obama Pride NYC, the LGBT group working to elect President Obama in New York.  Sklarz served as the first transgender President of the Stonewall Democratic Club in New York City from 2012 to 2014.  She also served on Manhattan’s Community Board 2 for six years, and as president of the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats.

After becoming a peer counselor at the Gender Identity Project in the mid-90s, Sklarz discovered there were little to no resources available to transgender New Yorkers, inspiring her to get involved with government and the political system.  She was a leader in successfully advocating for transgender anti-discrimination protections in New York City under a law signed in 2002 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 

Since then, Sklarz has been working hard to  enact the same protections statewide through the passage of GENDA.  Sklarz has long worked on other issues of importance to LGBT New Yorkers, including civil rights protections; improved health care funding and access; birth certificate gender marker change modernization; education on transgender issues; and services for the LGBT aging population..

Congratulations once again Melissa for another groundbreaking step, and hope it finally results in the far too long delayed and denied trans human rights coverage for all New Yorkers

Christine Jorgensen Hour Magazine Interview

This was the date in 1953 when Christine Jorgensen stepped her stylishly dressed self off an SAS plane from Denmark and ushered in the modern era of trans visibility.

Christine not only was a pioneer, she took time out of her life to educate the public about our trans lives up until her death in 1989.

To honor the day she arrived at Idlywild (now JFK Airport) 62 years ago, here's the video of her interview with Gary Collins on Hour Magazine.

Rev. Carol Stone Passes Away

Some sad news to report from the other side of The Pond concerning a trans pioneer.

The Rev. Carol Stone lost her battle with pancreatic cancer and passed away at age 60.

Rev. Stone was ordained under her previous name as a Church of England vicar in 1978.  After serving in several positions she announced her intention to transition in 2000.  

Although she feared at the time she wouldn't be allowed to speak from the pulpit, the Right Reverent Barry Rogerson, then Bishop of Bristol stated there was no ethical or ecclesiastical reason why she couldn't do so.    She was also supported by her parishioners and received a standing ovation when she returned to the pulpit after her surgery.

Rev. Stone was also a regular radio contributor, and in 1979 received an award from the Sandford St. Martin Trust.

The Right Rev  Lee Rayfield, the Bishop of Swindon in his remarks about Rev Stone said: "She and her colleagues really worked hard and overcame one setback after another, 

'She really was a true priest who overcame a huge amount in her life and a huge amount with other people, and I'll remember her with great affection.' 

Rest in peace Rev. Stone.

Happy Milestone Birthday, Caroline!

Today is the milestone 60th birthday of model, trans advocate and Bond Girl Caroline Cossey who was born on this date in the UK in 1954.

She was one of the more well known trans women of the 80's and 90's and has a variant of the intersex condition Klinefelter's Syndrome in which instead of the XXY pattern that many people with the condition usually have, she was born XXXY.

Cossey broke ground as a fashion model under her stage name Tula, authored two autobiographical books published in 1982 and 1991, was a Bond Girl in the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only, and a September 1991 Playboy magazine centerfold.  

She also fought for trans marriage rights in Great Britain.   She won her European Court of Human Rights.case in 1989 and lost it on British government appeal in September 1990.

Since 1992 she has been married and living in the ATL metro area with her husband David Finch.

Happy milestone birthday to one of our transfeminine pioneers who helped push the knowledge envelope abut us during the 80's and 90's.   May you have many more.  

April Ashley Museum Exhibit Opening September 27

April Ashley is one of our pioneering trans people and was honored last year with an MBE for her lifelong human rights advocacy. 

It's exiting and interesting to note that an exhibit about her life is opening Friday in her hometown of Liverpool.  

How cool is that? 

The Museum of Liverpool is hosting the exhibit entitled April Ashley: Portrait of a Lady that will run from September 27-September 14, 2014.

The year long exhibit is funded with a £78,000 ($125,371) grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and curated by Homotopia in partnership with National Museums Liverpool.   It draws upon April Ashley’s previously unseen photographic archive and personal documents to investigate the wider impact of changing social and legal conditions for all transgender, lesbian, gay and bisexual people from 1935 to today.

April was born in Liverpool in 1935, joined the Merchant Marine at age 14 to escape her unhappy home life, and after two suicide attempts and electroshock therapy to 'cure' her moved to Paris, transitioned, worked at the famed Le Carrousel trans cabaret and was the first person in Europe (and Dr. Georges Bourou's ninth) to undergo genital surgery with Dr Bourou at his clinic in Casablanca, Morocco in 1960. 

She returned to Britain after the surgery and became a successful Vogue model and actress until she was outed in 1961.  She was a plaintiff in the 1970 Corbett v Corbett divorce case that has had international legal ramifications on trans marriages (and negatively impacted Christie Lee Littleton in 1999 among others) in addition to the status of trans people in Great Britain that wasn't rectified until the 2004 Gender Recognition Act was passed.

Ashley has had a major impact on us as a trans pioneer and it's wonderful that her life is being spotlighted

The Museum of Liverpool opened in July 2011 and is the first national museum in Great Britain devoted to the history of a regional city.   It showcases popular culture while tackling social, historical and contemporary issues and is a fantastic, free family day out. It has attracted more than two million visitors since it opened and was awarded the prestigious Council of Europe Museum Prize for 2013 for its commitment to human rights as well as its work with children and families from all backgrounds.

The April Ashley exhibit is just another example of that human rights commitment.  If you live in Great Britain or are here on our side of The Pond planning to visit Great Britain, hope you take the opportunity to travel to Liverpool and see the April Ashley exhibit while it's there.   

Trans Pioneer JoAnn Roberts Dies

I was shocked and saddened to read the TG Forum and Chrysalis posts from Angela Gardner and Dallas Denny announcing the June 7 death of one of the pioneers in the trans community in JoAnn Roberts at age 65 due to lung cancer.

JoAnn Roberts was one of the five founders of the Pennsylvania based Renaissance Transgender Education Assn., the ill-fated GenderPac, and served on the boards of IFGE and AEGIS in which she was the board chair from 1992-1996.

She also was one of the persons who helped give us a major boost in the founding and formation of NTAC in 1999.

She was an early trans political activist and major leader during the renaissance of trans activism in the early 90's.  She authored the Bill of Gender Rights in December 1990 that was subsequently expanded into the International Bill of Gender Rights at the 1993 and subsequent ICTLEP conferences.

JoAnn appeared on many television shows to discuss our issues including the Donahue talk show and served as the founding owner/publisher of TGForum.

'Cousin JoAnn' as I affectionately referred to her as in addition to publishing 'Art and Illusion-A Guide To Crossdressing' also published a 'Who’s Who of the TG Community' and was the driving force for The Second International Congress on Crossdressing, Sex and Gender hosted by Renaissance in suburban Philadelphia in 1997.

I met JoAnn during the 1999 Southern Comfort Conference.  I have fond memories of sitting outside the Buckhead area hotel that used to host SCC with her, Polar, Pam Geddes and Dawn Wilson drinking a 21 year old bottle of scotch while discussing a wide range of subjects.  

Our conversation was interrupted when the chartered bus arrived from an SCC convention excursion to an Atlanta club called the Chamber.  The persons on the bus began stumbling off of it in various stages of inebriation and hilariously and unsteadily attempted to negotiate in their 5 inch heels the distance from the spot where the bus was parked to the hotel's front door..

She had wound down her interaction with the trans community in recent years to spend more time with her family and work on her beloved model train set when she was diagnosed with cancer in February.  

She'd undergone chemotherapy treatment that appeared to successfully halt the cancer spread in her lungs and liver.  Radiation treatments were begun to deal with a tumor on her spine but were halted last week when it was determined that the tumor there had spread and she opted for hospice care where she passed away on June 7.

There is a Facebook page that has been set up to commemorate her life and in which people who knew JoAnn can pay their respects.  But I'm sad to report that one of the early leaders in the American trans community and a trans community pioneer has moved on.

Rest in peace JoAnn, you will be missed.