Changing The World Later In Life
By Carol Tanis
Originally printed 12/6/2012 (Issue 2049 - Between The Lines News)
http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=57208 HOLLAND -
At age 75 Charley Renee has come out as a woman. And if that weren't enough, she's speaking about the process to college and high school students and others in West Michigan.
Born in Benton Harbor, Charley graduated from Michigan State University in 1959 and earned a Ph.D seven years later from the University of Arizona at Tucson. As a man, Charley had a successful career employed as a plant scientist, working for various companies and living in several states while traveling extensively throughout North and South America and Europe.
Busy with the demands of his job and living with a wife in suburbia, he had little time to think about his inner feelings and about why he felt different from other people.
[...]
Two months before his 71st birthday Charley had gender-reassignment surgery and has been on estrogen therapy since. She spent the next couple of years transitioning under the guidance of an endocrinologist at the University of Michigan Medical Center and a therapist specializing in transgender issues. Laser electrolysis for facial hair removal was part of the process along with changing her name to Charley Renee, and her gender from male to female on her birth certificate, driver's license and passport. In addition she received some voice training to make her speech pattern more feminine.
