Edith Windsor Passes Away: Things To Know About Gay Rights Activist

Iconic gay rights activist, Edith Windsor, passed away this week. She was 88. 

She was the lead plaintiff in the 2013 US case that gave gay and lesbian couples access to federal benefits. This case laid the foundation for the Supreme Court’s decision to realise same sex marriage across the country in 2015

Windsor was billed $300,000 in estate taxes when her partner passed away in 2009. If they were married, she would not have had to pay the money. After her partner died, she struggled to pay off the money, and finally sued, asking for the US to reconsider giving federal benefits to gay couples. 

She remarried last year, and is survived by her second wife, Judith Kasen-Windsor.

Here are some things to know about the formidable lady:

She was born in 1929 in Pennsylvania. She married a man, but the marriage ended in 1952. She then enrolled in NYU, worked as a secretary to get through college, and earned her degree in computer programming.

She met her first wife-to-be in 1962, in a Greenwich Village restaurant. Thea Spyer and Windsor became a life-long couple who lived together for more than 40 years. Spyer was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1977.

Windsor worked in IBM and she rose to the top ranks of the company.

When Spyer passed away, Widsor sued and won the case. “I think she’d be so proud and happy and just so pleased at how far we have come. It’s a culmination of an engagement that happened between us in 1967 when we didn’t dream that we’d be able to marry,” Windsor had said.

Even before the case, Spyer and Windsor were involved in the burgeoning gay rights movement, and used to attend parades and rallies.

The world has a lot to thank for this lady who fought for the rights of the LGBTQ community. 

Also Read: 21-Year-Old Helps Create Separate Washrooms For Transgender People

Picture Credit: New York Times