Born: 15 August 1956, United States
Died: 18 February 2006
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women founder Allison Tyra’s book The View from the Hill: Women Who Made Their Mark After 40.
Laurel Hester didn’t set out to fight for same-sex marriage. A New Jersey police lieutenant, Hester died in 2006 at age 49 after a prolonged battle with lung cancer. At the same time, she had been battling another force: the Ocean County freeholders. These local government bureaucrats held Hester’s pension in their hands, and were refusing to allow her domestic partner, Stacie Andree, to receive those benefits when Hester inevitably succumbed to her cancer. This was the default for male/female married couples, but Hester’s more than 20 years with the Ocean County prosecutor’s office meant nothing in the face of homophobia. Without the money, Andree would lose their home in addition to losing her partner, Hester told the freeholders. Hester continued fighting even as she lost her hair and needed a wheelchair and oxygen. Pension rules stated that domestic partners could be beneficiaries—but only with the approval of county officials, and the Ocean County freeholders repeatedly refused to consider a resolution that would allow county law enforcement employees to designate anyone other than a spouse as the beneficiary for their pension. The freeholders finally reversed their decision on January 25, 2006. Hester died less than a month later. A 2007 short documentary about Hester and Andree’s story, titled Freeheld, won an Oscar. It was followed by a 2015 biopic of the same name, in which Julianne Moore portrayed Hester.
In a video to the freeholders, Hester told them, “All I’m asking for is that you sign the resolution and that you… make a change—a change for good. A change for righteousness. And a change in the lives of so many people who have dedicated themselves to county government. And I hope the same is true for other municipalities and counties.”