Amy Ashworth

Amy Ashworth
Born
Amélie Wilhelmine Marie Everard

August 31, 1924
Haarlem, the Netherlands
DiedApril 6, 2017 (age 92)
Ojai, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Activist, co-founder of P-FLAG

Amy Ashworth (August 31, 1924 – April 6, 2017), born Amélie Wilhelmine Marie Everard, was a Dutch-born American activist and nurse. In 1973, she was one of the co-founders of PFLAG.

Early life and education

Everard was born in Haarlem, the daughter of Pieter Franciscus Joseph Everard. She attended the Lycee Pensionnat de Français in Nijmegen.[1] She worked as a nurse in Amsterdam during World War II.[2]

Career

After World War II, Everard moved to New York City, where she worked at the Dutch consulate. She later worked as a physical therapist at a nursing home.[3] Ashworth and her husband, along with Jeanne Manford and her husband Jules, and Elaine Benov and her husband Bob, founded Parents of Gays in 1973, now known as PFLAG, at a meeting held in a Greenwich Village church.[4] They marched with their children in the earliest Pride parades, maintained a phone hotline,[5] spoke to community groups,[6][7] lobbied state and federal governments, and built an international rights organization.[8] "There is so much prejudice against gays," she told a 1977 audience. "We have to back our children. It's easier not to, but somebody has to."[3]

The Ashworths were also members of the board at the Institute for the Protection of Lesbian & Gay Youth (now the Hetrick-Martin Institute). They were guests on national television and radio programs,[9][10] and Amy hosted a talk show on local television. She was director of the New York City chapter of PFLAG,[11] and worked with hospice and other support programs serving people with HIV/AIDS. Raised in the Catholic church, she also spoke about the church's response to homosexuality.[12] In 1992, Ashworth's work was recognized with a Stonewall Award from the Anderson Prize Foundation.[13]

Personal life

Amy Everard married lawyer Richard Goodspeed Ashworth in 1952.[1] They lived in Bronxville and had three sons, Tucker, Eric, and Everard.[7] She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1967. Tucker and Eric Ashworth both died from AIDS, in 1987 and 1997.[14][15] Dick Ashworth died from cancer in 1998. She died in 2017, at the age of 92, in Ojai, California.[2] The location of the first meeting of PFLAG is now marked with a historical plaque.

References

  1. ^ a b "R. G. Ashworth Weds Emilie W. M. Everard". The New York Times. November 30, 1952. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  2. ^ a b "Amy Ashworth Obituary". Ventura County Star, via Legacy.com. April 9, 2017. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  3. ^ a b Cirillo, Joan (1977-11-27). "Parents unite to battle for children's gay rights". Mount Vernon Argus. p. 69. Retrieved 2024-06-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Jeanne Manford, 1920 - 2013". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  5. ^ Bushman, David (1983-04-18). "Group helps parents deal with gay children". Citizen Register. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-06-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Cirillo, Joan (1977-05-21). "Gay's parents fight 'homophobia'". The Reporter Dispatch. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-06-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Lowrie, Barbara Woller (1982-06-27). "Parents of gays seek support for rights movement". Citizen Register. p. 53. Retrieved 2024-06-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Humm, Andy (2017-04-27). "Amy Ashworth, PFLAG Co-Founder, Dies". Gay City News. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  9. ^ "Harriet Hancock, Interview 1" LGBTQ Columbia (September 13, 2007), oral history interview conducted by Santi Thompson; University Libraries, University of South Carolina.
  10. ^ Fleckenstein, Ross (1980-07-03). "Group helps parents support sons' homosexuality". Mount Vernon Argus. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-06-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Moran, Tom (1985-05-05). "'Mom, Dad... I'm gay'; When a son or daughter comes out of the closet". Poughkeepsie Journal. pp. 1B. Retrieved 2024-06-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Catholics say church must understand gays". Sidney Daily News. 1984-06-23. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-06-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Stonewall Awards recipients announced". Seattle Gay News. 1992-04-10. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-06-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Dunlap, David W. (June 1, 1987). "Tucker Ashworth, Planning Aide, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  15. ^ "Eric Ashworth, 39, A Literary Agent". The New York Times. July 24, 1997. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
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