Adele Starr

Adele Starr (February 10, 1920 - December 10, 2010) organized the Los Angeles chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays in 1976.^[1]

Early life

Ida Seltzer, later Adele Starr, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 10, 1920, the daughter of an accountant and a homemaker.^[2]

In 1941 she married Lawrence Starr, an accountant. In 1951 they moved to the Los Angeles area and settled in Brentwood, where Starr helped her husband establish a private accounting practice.^[2]

Activism

Adele Starr, at the time a Brentwood mother of five, became an activist for gay rights and marriage equality in 1974 after her second son, Philip Starr, told her he was gay.^[2]

Los Angeles P-FLAG, founded in 1976, received more than 7,500 letters requesting information. Every letter was answered by a member of the chapter.^[2]

In 1979, she spoke on the steps of the U.S. Capitol at a march for gay rights — a seminal event often credited with uniting a then-nascent movement.^[2]

In 1981, members decided to launch a national organization. The first PFLAG office was established in Los Angeles under founding president Adele Starr, who remained president until 1986.^[3]

Personal life

She died on December 10, 2010, at 90 years old.^[2]

References