Adele Starr, who in 1976 established a support group for parents of gay and lesbian children after her son came out to her, died Friday in Santa Monica, California 90.
Starr met PFLAG founders Jules and Jeanne Manford in 1974, and within a year hosted Los Angeles’s first chapter meeting with 35 parents in attendance in her home. Eventually she hosted gatherings of other chapter leaders, which led to the creation of a national group. Starr was then elected as the first president of the national PFLAG organization.
“Adele Starr was one of the pioneers of PFLAG. It is because of her commitment to organizing the many people who were working for the common goal of equality for all into the organization that we now know as PFLAG that we have gained the strength, prominence, and ability to become the voice of parents and allies united for equality,” Jody M. Huckaby, PFLAG National’s executive director, said in a statement Friday.