'Role model and hero': Arizona marriage equality activist Nelda Majors dies at 84

Nelda Majors, a community leader at the forefront of the fight for marriage equality in Arizona, died Aug. 1. She was 84.

The cause of death was a five-year battle with cancer, according to ONE Community, the Phoenix-based LGBTQ+ nonprofit where she was active for years.

Majors and Karen Bailey, 84, made history on Oct. 17, 2014, when they were among the first two same-sex partners in Arizona to wed after a federal judge ruled the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

"I have no words to express how I feel. This is wonderful," Majors told the press as she and Bailey walked out of the Maricopa County Clerk’s Office after marrying, wearing matching red blazers and holding their marriage licenses, The Republic reported.

Having been involved with ONE Community, the organization recognized how impactful her work had been for its members.

"Nelda was like a mom to so many of us and her enduring love story with Karen has and always will be pivotal to the evolution of ONE Community’s story," said Angela Hughey, the organization's cofounder and president, in a statement.

By the time the then-Scottsdale residents exchanged vows, they had been together for 57 years. Never losing their Texan drawl, the two women in their older years became vigorous defenders of marriage equality.

Love and softball amid fear

Nelda Faye Majors was born Aug. 5, 1938, in Houston. She played softball from a preteen into her 30s, having pitched in a world softball tournament in 1964.

Majors graduated from the University of Houston. She had switched her physical education major to physical therapy at the urging of a university administrator who, Majors would later say, knew she played softball and did not want "queers" in the department.

She went on to run a business contracting physical therapy for 33 hospitals in three states.

Majors and Bailey met in their late teens at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. A favorite song of theirs back then was Roy Hamilton’s 1957 rock ballad “Right to Love.”

In a 2012 minidocumentary produced by ONE Community about the women’s relationship, Bailey recalled how Majors came out to her one night as they returned to school.

"We were talking, and she told me, she said that she loves me and I said, 'Well, I love you too,' and she said, 'No, I don’t think you realize what I’m saying. I really love you,' and I told her, I said, 'I know exactly what you’re saying because I really love you too.'"

For decades, the two pretended to be merely best friends and claimed to have boyfriends. They concealed their relationship from even family they knew were loving and supportive of them.

Their relationship would come to be fully known later in life in a highly public way.

The pair were close friends with Sue Lovell, whom they met during the 1969 women’s national softball tournament in Arizona. In 2006, they were invited to Lovell’s swearing-in as a Houston city council member. To their surprise and before multiple TV news crews, the openly gay Lovell introduced Bailey and Majors as life partners.

"In living in the closet, I think it was, in a lot of ways, it was stressful, but it was what we were used to. We didn’t know how good it would be until we were outed," Majors said in the ONE Community minidocumentary.

In acknowledging the longtime gay rights activism of some of their friends, Majors said, "I can honestly say that I’m sorry we didn’t come out sooner. I feel guilty at times that we didn’t."

Championing a state and national cause

The Arizona legislature in 1996 outlawed same-sex marriage, and voters in 2008 approved an amendment to the state constitution that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman.

The couple in March 2013 had taken to the steps of the United States Supreme Court to represent Arizona during the United for Marriage coalition rally as the justices reviewed two cases regarding same-sex marriage rights.

"America was founded on the principle of freedom," Majors said before a crowd of supporters. "In this country, freedom needs to mean freedom for everyone, including gay and lesbian family members, friends, coworkers or neighbors."

Bailey recounted how they had cared for their elderly parents. Not being married barred them from having access to future inheritances, hospital visitation rights and end-of-life decisions.

Bailey said she took custody of her great-nieces when they were young children. Majors added that despite raising the girls together, she would have no legal right to them because the two women were barred from marrying.

Majors and Bailey were also lead plaintiffs in an early 2014 suit the gay advocacy group Lambda Legal filed against the state’s same-sex marriage ban.

"All we want is to express and celebrate our love and commitment through marriage before our friends and family right here in our home in Arizona," Majors had told The Arizona Republic several months before.

Optimistic but steadfast

The couple moved from Houston to Scottsdale in the mid-2000s and resided in Phoenix for about the last year.

In addition to Bailey and their now adult daughters, Marissa Diamond and Sharla Curtis, Majors is survived by a grandchild.

"Her love guided her to not only live her truth but to inspire others to live their truths as well. She was a role model and hero to all of us," Majors’ friend, Sheila Kloefkorn, told The Republic after her passing.

After the Supreme Court’s June 26, 2015, Obergefell v. Hodges decision recognized same-sex marriage as a legal right, Majors expressed optimism.

"I never thought I would see this day," Majors told The Republic at the time. "I am now more hopeful than ever that we will see full protections in Arizona for LGBTQ people in our lifetime."

But she remained steadfast about the resolve to reach full equality under the law, quickly adding, "We must keep pushing."

Reach breaking news reporter Jose R. Gonzalez at jose.gonzalez@gannett.com or on Twitter @jrgzztx.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona marriage equality activist Nelda Majors dead at 84