Obituaries of Note

The past couple of weeks have produced the passing of three well known and respected writers:

• An investigative journalist who invoked the ire of the Nixon Administration for his reporting on Watergate in the 1970s, Edwin Guthman was never afraid to pursue a story. In the era of McCarthyism, he made his mark while working for the Seattle Times, where he uncovered the evidence that a professor targeted by the state's Committee on Un-American Activities had been wrongly accused. His investigation not only salvaged the academic's career but also earned Guthman a Pulitzer Prize in 1950. He was 89.
• Jeannette Eyerly, a pioneering author in the genre of young-adult fiction, boldly tackled challenging topics in her work. She delved into issues such as unwanted pregnancy and divorce in a way that her young readers could relate to. Her candid presentation was unprecedented in girls' fiction in the 1960s and helped pave the way for generations of writers to follow her. She was 100.
• Below, a tribute to Del Martin written by Kate Kendell, Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The photo is of Ms. Martin (right) and her partner of fifty-five years, taken on their wedding day.

A PERSONAL HERO OF MINE and a founding mother of the modern lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender-rights movement, Dorothy (Del) Martin died August 27 at the age of 87.

Del's entire life was marked by moments of singular courage, intelligence and insight. She began as a journalist, studying at the University of California, Berkeley. She applied her vision and writing skills to activism, and she can be credited with some of the most transformative changes toward LGBT equality.

Del's contributions include co-founding the nation's first lesbian organization —Daughters of Bilitis — and the first lesbian newspaper, The Ladder.

But perhaps the memory I hold most dear is witnessing her legal marriage to Phyllis Lyon, her partner of 55 years on June 16, 2008. I cannot quite grasp a life and career without Del, and I am heartbroken for Phyllis, who for fifty-five years made a vibrant life with Del. My pledge is to honor her unsurpassed leacy by working every day to keep alive her vision for full equality and justice for all of us.