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E 'Komo Mai Hinai
| Open Arms Community Church |

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| Anialoa Long House Sunday Service |
Open Arms Community ChurchJoin Pastor
Debbie and the congregation on Sunday. Preaching Schedule July 6th - Rev. Debbie Martin "The Appearance of Freedom" July 13th - Rev. Debbie Martin "Never Give Up - Finish the Race" July 20th - Rev. Rod Staples "Give Unto Ceaser" July 27th - Rev. Debbie Martin "The Eternal Optimist"
ll OBITUARIES ll
Date: Aug 20, 2008 6:10 PM Anne Elizabeth Whitmore, 56, died Thursday August 14, in her
home. Anne, a gifted artist, had a career as an architectural illustrator and freelance artist before coming
to the Big island in 2004. Her works have been in juried shows and galleries throughout California, New Mexico
and Hawaii. Currently you may view her works at the Arthur Johnsen Gallery in Hilo as well as in the currently
running abstract show at the Wailoa Centerin in Hilo. She was a member of the Plein Air Artists
of Hawaii Island. Anne was in support of and volunteered for the Volcano Arts Center.
Memorial service
will be held at a friends home this Sunday at 2 p.m. casual attire. KiKi’s Place is on the red road ( Kalapana-Kapoho
Rd.) just past the 17mm. There is a sign that says one lane road then the driveway. Some flowers or balloons
will be put out to mark the drive. Please consider bring your own chair as well as plate cup and silverware this will help to reduce waste
She is survived by her father Edward Whitmore, her brother Joel Whitmore, sister in-law Paula and niece Sara of Macon Georgia as well as by her beloved sisters, Debra Serro of Volcano,
Debra “Morgan” Paschke of Alameda Ca., Tao Maust, Diane Blanchard, Kate Schuerch, Karen Blue and Anne
Sturgis of Ola`a Forest and her large Big Island Ohana.
When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength
in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid. - Audre Lorde
--Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Del Martin
(1921 - 2008) Dear
Friend,
With great sadness, I report that the legendary Del Martin (pictured on the left)
passed away on Wednesday, August 27, with her wife, Phyllis Lyon by her bedside.
These two great pioneers smashed
barriers for lesbians throughout their 55 years together. Co-founders in the 1950s of the Daughters of Bilitis, the first national lesbian organization in the United States, they battled homophobia
in the National Organization for Women in the 1960s; founded the Lyon-Martin Health Services clinics for lesbians in the 1970s;
and in the new millennium, became the first gay couple to be married in San Francisco - twice. Their books Lesbian/Woman and Lesbian Love and Liberation are classics
in lesbian literature. In 2003, Joan Biren immortalized their amazing lives in her award-winning documentary No Secret Anymore: the Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon.
Our thoughts are with Phyllis,
as we treasure the legacy of Del on this very sad day. Sincerely, Charles Flowers Lambda Literary Foundation
From the Associated Press, by LISA LEFF: Del Martin, a pioneering lesbian rights activist who with her lifelong partner became a
symbol for the movement to legalize gay marriage, died Wednesday morning. She was 87. Martin died at a San Francisco hospital two weeks
after a broken arm exacerbated her existing health problems, according to Kate Kendell, executive director of the National
Center for Lesbian Rights. Her partner of more than 55 years and wife of just over two months,
Phyllis Lyon, was with her. "Ever since I met Del 55 years ago, I could never imagine a day would come when she wouldn't be by
my side," Lyon, 83, said in a statement Wednesday. "I also never imagined there would
be a day that we would actually be able to get married," she added. "I am devastated, but I take some solace in
knowing we were able to enjoy the ultimate rite of love and commitment before she passed." Martin and Lyon exchanged vows at San Francisco City Hall on June 16, the first day same-sex couples could legally wed in
California, after being together for more than half a century. Mayor Gavin Newsom, who officiated
the wedding, singled them out to be the first gay couple to be declared "spouses for life" in the city in recognition
of their long relationship and their status as pioneers of the gay rights movement. "The greatest way we can
honor the life work of Del
Martin, is to continue
to fight and never give up, until we have achieved equality for all," Newsom said Wednesday. The
couple, who in 1955 co-founded the nation's first outspoken advocacy group for lesbians, Daughters of Bilitis, similarly
served as the public faces of the marriage debate four years earlier, when Newsom in 2004 challenged California's one
man-one woman marriage laws by directing city officials to issue licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Their marriage, along
with those of almost 4,000 other couples, were invalidated later by the California Supreme Court. The
action laid the groundwork for a series of lawsuits that ultimately led a 4-3 majority of the same court on May 15 to strike
down the state's gay marriage ban. Martin
and Lyon were two of the original plaintiffs. "We would not have marriage equality in California if it
weren't for Del and
Phyllis. They fought and triumphed in many battles," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco. "Through
it all, their love and commitment to each other was an inspiration to all who knew them." An
imposing and uncompromising figure, Martin
in 1970 wrote an influential article for the Advocate magazine that criticized what she saw as the gay rights movement's
persistent chauvinism. The schism, which mirrored the increasing cultural influence of the women's movement, eventually
prompted Lyon and Martin
to adopt feminism and racism among their causes. Trained as journalists, they together wrote "Lesbian/Woman,"
a landmark 1972 book in which they tried to make the point that lesbians should be seen for more than their sexuality and
simultaneously offered a frank, no-nonsense account of lesbian relationships. A year later, Martin became the first out lesbian to serve
on the board of directors of the National Organization for Women, a position she won despite opposition within the feminist
organization. Critics in the group feared the impact of having a leader that many in the mainstream still viewed as socially
deviant. Born as Dorothy Taliaferro on May 5, 1921, in San Francisco, Martin acquired the surname she would use the rest of her life
from her four-year marriage to her college sweetheart, James Martin. They had a daughter, Kendra, before they divorced. In
"Lesbian/Woman," Martin
recounted that the growing realization that she was attracted to women initially sparked thoughts of suicide. She eventually
worked through her feelings despite the discrimination and threat of arrest gay people faced during the conservative 1950s. When
she started working for a construction trade publication in Seattle, she carried a briefcase without worrying whether it made
her appear manly. The briefcase was the first thing Lyon noticed about her future spouse, she always recounted in stories
about how the two met. "Ultimately, it gets down to self-acceptance. If you accept yourself, you don't
give a damn what anyone else thinks," Martin
said in "No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del
Martin and Phyllis Lyon,"
Joan Biren's 2003 documentary about the couple. Martin is survived by Lyon; her daughter, Kendra
Mon, a son-in-law, two grandchildren and her sister-in-law. In Martin's honor, Newsom ordered the American flags at City Hall
and the rainbow flag in the Castro District, the heart of the city's gay and lesbian community, to be flown at half-staff
until sundown Thursday. Plans for a public memorial are pending.
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