York Region’s LGBTQ+ community is mourning the loss of the founding member of pflag York Region.
Marilyn Byers was a longtime educator who passed away at the age of 88 Dec. 23. She helped start the first chapter of pflag in York Region in 1994, after her son came out, starting the chapter alongside friends in a Richmond Hill home.
“Marilyn set the example for what pflag volunteerism and advocacy looks like today, and we will continue to work in her honour,” pflag York Region said in a news release.
Byers was an advocate for the community, launching the first billboard campaign in Canada for pflag with the message “Someone You Know and Love is Gay.” She was also part of the Marc Hall Coalition in 2002, a group organized after Marc Hall was denied to bring his date to the prom at a Durham Region Catholic high school.
She also became an active public speaker, with a workshop “How to have inclusivity and diversity in our society” presented before groups throughout York Region and beyond.
In her words, “pflag’s mission is to support and educate — to cope with an adverse society; to enlighten an ill-informed public; to end discrimination and to secure equal human rights.”
Byers was a lifelong Catholic and passionate about bringing change to the Catholic education system.
“We must stop preaching love while modelling hate. Just as we reject slavery and sexism, we can bring an end to homophobia through education,” Byers said in 2004 while attending a human rights committee caucus. “As Christians, we must stand with those who believe discrimination is a crime."
Byers also helped secure grants to pflag as an organization and helped advocate for inclusive spaces in education in amendments in 2012.
She was well honoured for her efforts, earning accolades that included a York Region Spirit of Community Award in 2001, an outstanding achievement award for voluntarism from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration in 2004, certificates of appreciation from York Region Health Services and Ontario Provincial Police and more.
A celebration of life will be held for Byers Friday, Jan. 3 at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, 115 Simpson Ave. Visitation will be held at the chapel at noon, with a livestreamed service to begin at 1 p.m. The livestream will be available at https://youtu.be/JeljqxgnczU.
