Remembering Louise Browning
Dear Friends and Family,
Yesterday I lost the love of my life and we all lost a remarkable woman. Louise passed away as a result of a stroke ending a courageous and ever optimistic fight against cancer over the past three years. I believe she will continue to live through the lives of those of us who were touched by her enthusiasm for life, passion for social justice and love for her family, partners and friends. She died peacefully in the presence of her family and a close friend.
With Love,
Dick Browning
Celebration & Remembering Louise Browning
There are moments in our lives that are pivotal… something is said or done that changes how our lives will be forever. I had a pivotal moment eight years ago when our son told us he was gay. He was 15 at the time. I knew my life had taken a new twist and would forever be different. During this journey that has reshaped my life I have met some great people. One of those great people was Louise.
Louise came into my life just when we were starting PFLAG in Ukiah in 2001. Louise was the Mid-pacific Regional Director which she oversaw all of Northern California and Nevada. Since I was new at facilitating meetings and new to responding to families in crisis; I looked to Louise for help. Her experience being a mother with two gay sons and confronting past homophobia was invaluable. She was always helpful with suggestions and support for everyone. She and Dick were regulars and drove over the hill once a month to attend our meetings. Afterwards we always went out to dinner and enjoyed each others company. We became fast friends and I thought of Louise as a mentor.
I remember one of the first meetings where a woman shared her concerns about her gay son who recently came out. The woman was concerned about her son's safety and she did not understand why he was gay or what she felt was a chosen lifestyle. Louise showed genuine sympathy and understanding that I could tell came from a deep level. Louise had such compassion and grace with her advice; you could see the change within that Mom by the end of the meeting. Louise had a gift of doing that: providing understanding and compassion while educating the sad, grieving parent that being gay is not a choice and with time they will understand and accept that their child.
Many times I called Louise for advice with regards to our board and she was always willing to listen and provide good advice. I admired how she could get in front of a group and speak with her heart and soul and get her message across. I hope some day I can do as well.
She was an active member of our PFLAG North Bay board after her term as Regional Director. We valued her experience and knowledge of how a PFLAG chapter should be run. She had been elected to the position of President-Elect to take my place after my term but had to decline because of her health.
One of her many roles as an activist included being on the Safe Schools Coalition for California. She also helped start the Gay/Straight Alliance at Anderson Valley High School. Louise felt strongly that gay and lesbian students should have a safe environment to learn. This was a carry over from her years as a teacher and seeing the negative stigma given to gay and lesbian students. In her past, she had been involved in PFLAG in Los Angeles where she had established GSA type clubs called Project 10 at two large high schools in East LA. This contributed to her strong advocacy for youth. A month ago, gay and lesbian youth had a lobby day in Sacramento and Louise was wishing she could go but her illness prevented her. I went with my son and she called me as soon as we got back. She was thrilled to hear how it went and that 300 youth attended the event. It was obvious how much she wanted to be there.
Louise was a leader as a social activist and an example to follow. Always the optimist and willing to lend a helping hand, PFLAG will miss our valuable and wonderful sister. For me…. words can not describe my sadness and how much I will miss my friend. It has been an honor to be considered her friend and I will take that with me as I continue the journey for equal rights for my son. Her memory will always be with me.
In Honor of Louise, PFLAG is creating a scholarship in her name which we hope to give to deserving college or high school students who promote acceptance of gays and lesbians.
There will be special recognition of Louise at the Martin Luther King awards in Ukiah on May 20th. It will be at the Todd Grove Room and starts at 6:30pm.
Also, because of Louise's strong commitment to youth, we are petitioning for one of the bills that we lobbied in Sacramento to be named after Louise. The bills support civil rights and equal treatment for lgbt students. We have petitions here today for you to sign in support of naming one of the bills in Louise's honor.
Delynne Rogers
Pres. PFLAG North Bay