Obituary: Del Martin, lesbian hero, dies at 87 by Elizabeth Koke 08.27.08

This morning in San Francisco, a pioneering lesbian activist passed away. Del Martin, along with her partner of 55 years, Phyllis Lyon founded the Daughers of Bilitis in 1955, the first known lesbian organization in the United States. Del and Phyllis both worked on The Ladder,the very first nationally distributed lesbian publication, and were some of the first out lesbians to be involved in the National Organization for Women. Most recently, Del and Phyllis made headlines as gay marriage activists, and the first couple to be married in San Francisco in 2004 after the initial city-wide ruling (which was subsequently overturned), and were once again the first couple to be married this past summer after the groundbreaking California Supreme Court decision.

Del and Phyllis were the subject of a 2003 documentary, No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. In memorial to Del, Mayor Newsom has arranged for the flag at the San Francisco City Hall and the gay pride flag on Market Street to be flown at half-staff until Thursday evening.
Thank you, Del, for your gifts to us queers and generations of queers to come. And in a special way, Velvetpark thanks you for paving the way for lesbian publications in your work with The Ladder.