Who is Phyllis Lyon?
Phyllis Lyon (full name: Phyllis Ann Lyon) was an American author and LGBTQ icon who is a pillar of the San Francisco LGBTQ community and a civil rights pioneer.
Lyon worked as a reporter for the Chico Enterprise-Record in the 1940s. In the 1950s, she worked as part of the editorial staff of two Seattle magazines.
Together with her wife, they co-founded the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) in San Francisco in 1955. It became the first social and political organization for lesbians in the United States.
How Old is Phyllis Lyon?
Lyon died at the age of 95 on April 9, 2020. She was born on November 10, 1924, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States.
Phyllis Lyon Family
Lyon has a sister Patricia Lyon.
Phyllis Lyon Education
Lyon attended the University of California, Berkeley from where she earned a degree in journalism in 1946.
Phyllis Lyon Wife
Lyon met Del Martin in 1950, became lovers in 1952, and moved in together on Valentine’s Day 1953 in an apartment on Castro Street in San Francisco. The couple was together for three years when they co-founded the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) in San Francisco in 1955. The organization became the first social and political organization for lesbians in the United States.
Lyon and Martin both acted as president and editor of The Ladder until 1963. They also remained involved in the DOB until joining the National Organization for Women (NOW) as the first lesbian couple to do so.
The two worked to form the Council on Religion and the Homosexual (CRH) in northern California to persuade ministers to accept homosexuals into churches. They also used their influence to decriminalize homosexuality in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Lyon and Martin got married on February 12, 2004, in the first same-sex wedding to take place in San Francisco. This was after Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered the city clerk to begin providing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. However, that marriage was voided by the California Supreme Court on August 12, 2004. The couple got married again on June 16, 2008. This was the first same-sex wedding to take place in San Francisco after the California Supreme Court’s decision in In re Marriage Cases legalized same-sex marriage in California.
In August the same year, Martin died from complications of an arm bone fracture in San Francisco.
Phyllis Lyon Children
Lyon and Martin have a daughter Kendra Mon together. Lyon is survived by her sister Patricia Lyon, daughter Kendra Mon, son-in-law Eugene Lane, granddaughter Lorri Mon, grandson Kevin Mon, his wife Ellen, and great-granddaughter Kexin Mon.
Phyllis Lyon Death
Lyon died of natural causes at the age of 95 on April 9, 2020. Sen. Scott Wiener announced her death in a statement on Thursday, April 9. “We lost a giant today,” Sen. Wiener said. “Phyllis Lyon fought for LGBTQ equality when it was neither safe nor popular to do so. Phyllis and her wife Del Martin played a crucial role in winning the rights and dignity our community now enjoys. We owe Phyllis immense gratitude for her work. Rest in power.”
Phyllis Lyon Net Worth
Lyon has earned great wealth to her name. However, her net worth has not yet been revealed.
