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Obituary |
Betty Ann Lind, transgender pioneer, organizer, author and editor, died of complications from a stroke on Wednesday, March 4, 1998 at Sibley Hospital in Washington, DC. She had been in failing health for several years, and was recovering from recent surgery since her fall last year. She was 67.
Betty Ann was an original appointed board member to the IFGE Board of Director. She was reelected to the board in 1989 and served through the early 1990's. She served as a member of the IFGE Programs and Nominations Committees. She won numerous awards in the Community, including the Virginia Prince Award, the OIGS Achievement Award, and Miss Fantasia Fair. She was also the primary force behind the Reluctant Press and the editor of My Sorority, an early transgender newsletter. Alison Laing who first met Betty Ann over the phone in 1986, said, "I will remember her encouraging the Fantasia Fair attendees to practice 'many little kindnesses'."
Betty Ann Lind was the founder of the Delta Chi Tri-ESS chapter of Washington, DC in the early seventies which was the forerunner of the current TransGender Educational Association of Greater Washington (TGEA) which today has nearly ninety members. More than a few current members of TGEA and the Washington-Baltimore Alliance (WBA) still remember where they first met in Betty Ann's cramped apartment, packed with sisters of our special sorority. Betty Ann was also active in TG affairs in New Jersey.
She attended the second Fantasia Fair (held in Provincetown Massachusetts) in 1976. She became a member of the Board of Director to the Fair's sponsor, the Outreach Institute in 1982 and later in 1985 became the Fair Coordinator and served in that capacity until 1991. Ariadne Kane, Executive Director of OIGS, said. "Betty Ann was one of the most creative and dedicated leaders of the cross gender community. She set the quality of the Talent shows of Fantasia Fair in the 80's."
Betty Ann was famous for helping beginners reach heights they thought unattainable. "I was one of those girls" stated Helen Garfinkle, current President of the Washington Baltimore Alliance. "When I started, I was full of fear and worry, but she took me under her wing and guided me into the person I am today. I never thought I would become a leader of a group or serve on the board of national transgender conventions. But Betty Ann had faith in me and inspired me to serve the community, and to give back what I had received, by following her example. She was a true role model of community service, and a great friend to me and to many others in the community."
A memorial service is planned in about a week, with an announcement to follow.