ju st o u t ▼ m arch 1 7 . 1 0 0 9 ▼ 13
Role m odel o f
parental lo v e
A March 31 memorial will honor a fatherly advocate
for lesbian and gay rights
▼
by Inga Sorensen
Shepherd was bom July 25, 1913, in Portland.
regon has lost one of its most pas
He graduated from the University of Oregon and
sionate advocates for gay and lesbian
the University of Oregon Law School. During
civil rights. Portland attorney Will
World War II, he served as an infantry major and
iam K. Shepherd, co-founder of the
fought in the Battle of the Bulge. In 1944, he
state chapterof Parents, Families and
married Ann Marcotte
Friends of Lesbians and
and opened a legal
Gays, died March 9 of
practice in Portland.
leukemia and complica
The Shepherds be
tions of a stroke.
came active in the gay
The
81-year-old
and lesbian commu
Shepherd, along with his
nity in the mid-1970s
wife, Ann, are known not
after their daughter,
only for their public sup
Susie, came out to
port for their two lesbian
them as a lesbian. In
daughters, but for gay
1975, Ann testified
men and lesbians across
before a state legisla
Oregon.
tive committee consid
“They have been a role
ering the second gay
model of parental love
and lesbian rights bill.
and support to their les
Soon after, the couple
bian daughters—and to
co-founded
a Parents
thousands of adopted’
of Gays group, which
gay and lesbian Kids over
in 1982 affiliated with
the years. Their passion
the international orga
for justice is reflected in
nization now known as
their belief that only
Parents, Families and
through education, often
Bill Shepherd with his wife, Ann
Friends of Lesbians
one-on-one, do people
and Gays. During Portland’s Lesbian and Gay
exchange their bigotry for a heart of love and
Pride celebration in 1977, Susie and her parents
acceptance,” says Jeff Rose, Mr. Portland Leather
were featured on the front page of The Oregon
1993, who experienced the Shepherd’s warmth
Journal
(then Oregon’s evening daily newspaper).
and acceptance firsthand. “Bill’s zealous practice
That same year the Shepherds were the only par
of law has guided and protected so very many of us
ents to be featured on a KATU Town Hall program
over the years [and] Ann’s kitchen table has been
about gay men and lesbians.
the healing place for countless people of all ages,”
As elders at Portland’s First Presbyterian
says Rose.
O
G
G I F T S
R
FOR
Church, Bill and Ann participated in discussions
about gay- and lesbian-related issues with clergy
and Christian educators in a precedent-setting con
ference held by the Presbytery of the Cascades in
1981.
Additionally, Shepherd organized the Legal
Resource Committee of the Portland Town Coun
cil, which was Oregon’s first umbrella organiza
tion serving the legal, political, educational and
social needs of sexual minorities. Portland Town
Council spawned the creation of Right To Privacy
PAC, Phoenix Rising, and Cascade AIDS Project.
In the mid-1970s, Bill led the charge to stop
what many viewed as the entrapment of gay men in
Portland by law enforcement officials; he was also
willing to write wills and perform other legal
services for gay and lesbian couples during a time
when few attorneys would make themselves avail
able.
The Shepherds, who received Right To
Privacy’s Lucille Hart Award in 1985 for their
work on behalf of gay and lesbian rights, cel
ebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last No
vember.
Bill is survived by his wife; daughters Sally
Hyde of Gallup, N.M., Susie and Jean of Portland,
Jenniferof New York, and Kathryn of Aloha; three
grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at noon on
March 31 at Portland’s First Presbyterian Church.
The family suggests remembrances be contribu
tions to the Bill and Ann Shepherd Legal Scholar
ship Fund, care of the Equity Foundation, PO Box
5696, Portland, 97228. The scholarship will be
awarded to third-year law students who are attend
ing Oregon schools and are dedicated to practicing
human-rights law in the state.
Phoenix Rising Foundation
founder dies
“It’s my understanding that John lost two or
three friends to suicide because they were having
a tough time dealing with their sexual orientation,”
explains Phoenix Rising Executive Director
Allanya Guenther. “He founded Phoenix Rising
using $30,0(X) from his own practice. This was
something that was very important to John and
Warren, and they continued to provide significant
support to the agency over the years.”
Guenther, who has headed up Phoenix Rising
for about eight months, adds: “I’m sorry to say that
I did not personally know John Abele, but I believe
that he and Warren, who had been together for 35
years, had an extremely nurturing and supportive
relationship. Their relationship is an inspiration to
others.”
In addition to James, Abele’s survivors include
his daughter, Judith Baker, and son, John C., and
two granddaughters, all of Portland.
Guenther says Phoenix Rising will hold a ban
quet honoring Abele on June 15 at the Portland
Hilton. Remembrances may be made to Phoenix
Rising Foundation or the Alzheimer’s Associa
tion, Columbia-Willamettc Chapter. For more in
formation about the June ceremony, contact Phoe
nix Rising at 223-8299.
Inga Sorensen
Dr. John F. Abele, a founder of Phoenix Rising
Foundation, a Portland counseling center serving
the needs of the sexual minority community, died
Jan. 24 at the age of 85.
Abele, who was bom in 1909, followed in his
father’s footsteps by graduating from the Univer
sity of Oregon Medical School and serving in the
U.S. Army. After his military service, the younger
Abele set up private practice in Portland. He was
on the staff of Good Samaritan Hospital and other
area hospitals and was a clinical professor and
professor emeritus of orthopedic surgery at Or
egon Health Sciences University.
Abele also was the first director of the Oregon
Crippled Children’s Program, and a member of the
board of directors of the (now-defunct) Portland
Town Council, an early gay and lesbian organiza
tion that spawned the creation of Phoenix Rising
and Right To Privacy, Oregon’s largest gay and
lesbian political organization.
Abele married Doris Hope Gramm in 1934.
The couple separated in 1957. Soon after, Abele
met Portland resident Warren James, to whom he
became a lifelong companion.
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