R.I.P.

Trailblazing LGBTQ Activist Phyllis Lyon Dead at 95

Lyon and her wife were among the first to marry in California in 2008.

Phyllis Lyon, an early pioneer in the fight for gay marriage, has died of natural causes, the Associated Press reports. She was 95. Along with her partner Del Martin, Lyon was one of the first to marry in California in 2008 when same-sex marriage was briefly legalized. The couple had lived in San Francisco since 1953, according to the AP, where they had engaged in activism and published magazines for the LGBTQ community, especially lesbian women, for decades. Martin died in 2008 shortly after the couple's second legal marriage. California Governor Gavin Newsom called Lyon one of his heroes Thursday, AP reports. He officiated the couple's first wedding.