she could've been the next martin luther king jr.

taking a few moments to honor the memory of my dear friend jeanne. today would've been her 30th birthday, but sadly, she passed away December 16th, 1998 due to acute leukemia.

our friendship was brief and yet she profoundly changed my life. one of the most engaging, vivacious activists i've ever witnessed, she was my hero. at the ripe old age of 17, she not only helped me realize it was ok to be a lesbian, but that it was wonderful and something i should fight to protect....to be out and proud...to never be silenced about who i am and how i love. Our friendship gave me the confidence to speak out against injustice and discrimination, coming out at an historic school board meeting witnessed by a hostile crowd of hundreds. whenever i feel weak and needing a dose of courage, i simply remember jeanne.

this poignant entry was written by jeanne's brother, drew, on our high school's alumni website in 2002. In memory of Jeanne.. we love and miss you! .......................................................

The disease, though it took her life, didn't cause the suffering many others endure. She went quietly and peacefully, the look on her face telling the world her work was done here, and that she was on to greater things. For those that have contacted my family with your support, I extend my sincerest gratitude. As her older brother, I always miss her, asking myself ad nasuem the questions that arise when a sibling passes. Yet now, in times of hatred, war, and the senseless violence that rages, I find the question, "What If" so much more prevalent. I look back between the smirks and tears at the indefatigable young girl who could, and damn well would, fight anything that she deemed wrong and unfair. Now, in a world that embraces its self destruction as a predetermined necessity, I often muse what she would have done. Would she have made a difference wonder...................................... Didn't she always?