Today would have been my late parents' 64th wedding anniversary. They are pictured above on their wedding day. Ironically, my husbands' parents were also married on June 3, 1950, at approximately the same time of day as my parents. Talk about weird coincidences. Not surprisingly, I thought of my parents frequently today and the way they were wonderfully supportive and accepting when I came out in mid-life after 24 years of marriage. Sadly, not all LGBT individuals are as lucky as I was and, in honor of my parents, in April 2011, I endowed a permanent scholarship fund (contributions are tax deductible) in their honor and in honor of Hampton Roads Business OutReach ("HRBOR") which I helped found shortly after my father's death. I miss my parents everyday. Here are highlights from a post I wrote back in 2011:
I provided the initial funding to establish the scholarship for a number of reasons, not the least of which was to honor my parents who always valued education and who were unwavering in their support of me when I came out. In fact, when I was telling them that I was gay and made a remark that I hoped that they would not disown me, my father - not always the easiest of individuals to get along with - was indignant that I'd even think such a thing about them. He honestly could not conceive of any decent parent who would disown their own child merely because they were gay. Unfortunately, many parents do not follow my late parents' example. And as a result, LGBT youth make up a disproportionate percentage of homeless youths because too many parents prefer to cling to religious based bigotry or worry about what others will think rather than stand by their children.
Other LGBT youths, if not disowned and homeless, nonetheless can find themselves cut off from family resources and may never have an opportunity to got to college. Sadly, I know a significant number of individuals who suffered this disheartening experience. It's a tragedy. I sincerely hope that this scholarship will help offset such bigotry in small part and over time will grow and provide benefit for more aspiring LGBT youth each year.
Please consider making a donation - either in honor of my parents or my marriage to my husband.
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