As we step into the new year, we remember, recognize, and celebrate the impact of members of The History Project’s community whom we lost in the last year. While this list is not exhaustive, it serves as a heartfelt tribute to those we've lost recently.

It is impossible to capture the entirety of their enduring impact on Boston’s LGBTQ+ community and history. Please join us in recognizing their work and honoring their lives and legacies.

• Don Gorton (May 4, 1960 – December 24, 2022): Don was a lawyer perhaps best known for his work on hate crime and bullying legislation. He was a stalwart supporter of Boston’s LGBTQ+ history and headed the history committee of the former Boston Pride organization.
   
• Anna Clutterbuck Cook (March 30, 1981 - January 30, 2023): Anna was a leader in the archives and library field dedicated to equality, resistance, and queer joy. In addition to her many causes and hobbies, she volunteered for The History Project by digitizing the Daughters of Bilitis newsletter and supervising volunteer nights in the archives.
   
• Dermot Meagher (October 19, 1940 – December 28, 2023): Dermot co-founded the Mass. Lesbian & Gay Bar Association (MA LGBTQ Bar Association) and was appointed the first openly gay judge in Massachusetts. He was also a talented artist and writer. As a pioneer for LGBTQ+ rights, he shared his life story in an oral history with The History Project.
   
• Ann Maguire (July 20, 1943 - December 29, 2023): Ann was a lesbian trailblazer. Her legacy includes creating a lesbian haven at Somewhere and her LGBTQ+ political work, as well as her human services and breast cancer activism in Boston and beyond. Ann’s story is documented in “Ann Maguire: An American Hero,” and in oral histories preserved by The History Project. 
   
• Orlando Del Valle (September 30, 1940 - December 30, 2023): Orlando was a Renaissance man and a dynamo. He founded Club Antorcha and the Latino Health Network/Institute. He was also a fixture at the Boatslip Tea Dance in Provincetown and the White Party. The 2018 History Maker Award honored his lifetime of service to the LGBTQ+ community and he served on The History Project’s Board of Directors for many years. A tribute to Orlando is available here.

May Don, Anna, Dermot, Ann, and Orlando rest in power, and may their memories be a blessing. We honor their memory by continuing the fight for equality for all.