Scottsdale transgender advocate remembered

by Lynh Bui - Dec. 15, 2009 03:19 PM
The Arizona Republic

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/12/15/20091215sr-forbidden1216.html

The Scottsdale Human Relations commissioner who began the job as Ken Culver and reappointed later as Michele de LaFreniere died recently.

Although de LaFreniere is most known for her activism in the transgender community, those who remembered her said she advocated equality for all groups.

While serving on the Human Relations Commission, de LaFreniere was part of an effort that pushed the Scottsdale City Council to extend equal-employment protection to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.

Some additional remembrances are in this article:

Transgender activist leaves legacy
The Arizona Republic
by Lynh Bui
December 25, 2009

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/12/25/20091225activist1225.html

Her body wracked with cancer, Michele de LaFreniere still made it a point to travel to Mesa on Oct. 1.

She needed a wheelchair to get around, but the activist attended a Human Relations Advisory Board meeting to urge officials to create a domestic-partner registry in Mesa. Registries allow unmarried couples, gay or straight, to publicly record that they are in a committed relationship, granting them rights such as permission to visit each other in the hospital.

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Those who knew de LaFreniere say her death quiets an important voice in the Valley's gay community.