Obituary
Janne Marie Harrelson dies at 70
Worked for 32 years at Gallaudet University
Janne Marie Harrelson died Aug. 23 from ovarian cancer while in hospice care in Rockville, Md. She was 70.
Harrelson left an indelible mark on those who knew and loved her as a kind and generous person, according to a statement released by family. “Her thoughtfulness was legendary. Her home office remains filled with personal mementos and birthday and anniversary cards she kept ready so that her many connections could be nurtured.”
The oldest of five siblings, Harrelson was born in Fort Slocum, N.Y. Being in a Navy family meant that growing up, Harrelson rarely lived in one location for more than two years. Long Beach, Calif.; Japan; Hawaii; Key West, Fla.; Kernersville, NC; New Orleans, La.; various spots in Virginia; and Pensacola, Fla., were all considered “home” at various points in Janne’s life. Following in her father’s footsteps, Harrelson attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She followed up with a master’s in higher education administration/student personnel administration from Florida State University in Tallahassee.
Harrelson moved in 1978 to the Washington, D.C., area and began what became a 32-year career at Gallaudet University and the affiliated Model Secondary School for the Deaf and Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. Although she didn’t know American Sign Language when she was first hired, Harrelson quickly became highly knowledgeable in the language and in deaf culture and deaf education. She retired from Gallaudet in 2010 after serving in multiple leading positions, the final ones being director, National Mission Planning, and director of the nationwide Gallaudet University Regional Centers. Throughout her tenure at Gallaudet, Harrelson made lifelong professional and personal relationships that she cherished, according to the statement.
Harrelson met her life partner in 1978 through their participation in the D.C. Area Feminist Chorus. They married on March 9, 2010, the first day that D.C. recognized marriage equality.
Her greatest love and gift was her singing. Harrelson’s graceful soprano voice was part of multiple ensembles, including Sing Out Key West!, the (UNC) Carolina Choir, the DC Area Feminist Chorus, Brock and the Rockets a cappella group, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring choir, and Not What You Think a cappella group. She was also often asked to be a singer with other performers, which gave her immense pleasure.
Harrelson had many hobbies, including scrapbooking, which combined her passion for photography, connecting people through memories and experiences, and artistic and creative freedom. She also did needlepoint, a skill she learned from her mother and grandmother and shared with aunts and cousins. She was an active volunteer with the Capital-area team of AFS Intercultural Exchange until she was no longer able due to her illness. Harrelson expanded the scope of AFS to welcome international deaf students to local school communities, which positively affected the lives of many young people. In 2010, Janne and Deb and Lucy hosted a German exchange student, Johanna, and that connection became lifelong.
After Janne and Deb built their family through international adoption with their daughter Lucy, they became active with suburban Maryland international adoption groups and helped them to extend their outreach. Their family bonded with several others with adopted children and those relationships have remained lifelong. Harrelson was also an active leader and volunteer with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring over the 26 years of their family’s participation. Janne and Deb had deep roots in their former Silver Spring neighborhood, and beginning in 2021, in their new community in Rockville.
Harrelson was predeceased by her mother, Nancy (nee Bowling) Harrelson; father, Navy Capt. George David Harrelson (ret.); and infant brother John. She is survived by her wife, Deborah Weiner; daughter Lucy Youyou Jade Weiner Harrelson; brother George (Laura); brother Clay (Diane); brother Paul (Erin); and numerous close relatives in North Carolina and Atlanta.
A memorial service will be held Sept. 22 at 11 a.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring, 10309 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, Md. It will be interpreted in ASL and streamed.
Obituary
Washington lawyer Carolee Byrley dies at age 60
An active member of the local Gay Recovery Community
Carolee Byrley passed away unexpectedly on Oct. 30, 2024, in her home in Washington, D.C. She was 60.
She died from complications of Type One diabetes.
She was born on Sept. 2, 1964, in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., to Paul L. Byrley and Judith I. Byrley.
She graduated in 1982 from Winter Park High School in Winter Park, Fla., and from college at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. She later earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law School in Washington, D.C.
Byrley practiced law in Washington specializing in contracts and mergers.
Byrley was predeceased by her father as well as by Eileen Garner, her loving life partner of 38 years. She is survived by her mother, Judith Ireland, stepfather, Jerrold Nussbaum, brother, John Byrley, sister-in-law, Lena Byrley, brother, Jason Byrley, brother-in-law, Ben Byrley, and nephews, Jack and Alex Byrley.
Byrley was an active member of the Gay Recovery Community in Washington where she sponsored many people over the years. She recently received recognition for 40 years of sobriety and was living proof of the slogan, “Keep what you have by giving it away.” Her generosity and authenticity shown through in all she did. There was not a bone in her body that was fake. And, as one of her friends described her, she was “the kindest person I have ever met.”
Byrley was deeply committed to her dogs through the years and to the care and protection of rescue dogs everywhere.
A celebration of Byrley’s life will be held on Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. at Friends of Washington, 2111 Decatur Place, Washington, D.C., where friends encourage those who knew her to share memories of her life. There will be a reception at Friends following the memorial.
In lieu of flowers, please give a donation to your local dog rescue organization, in her name.
Obituary
Longtime media professional Michael Flocker dies at 61
A “Celebration of Life” will be held in Washington, D.C. by his many friends on November 16th.
Michael E. Flocker of Washington, D.C. passed away on Oct. 11, 2024, at the age of 61. He will be remembered with much love and missed by his mother, brother, niece and nephew and many of his U.K. relatives. He was predeceased by his father, Dale Price Flocker.
He was born in North Plainfield, N.J., and moved to Berlin, Germany, with his family for more than seven years, where his father was a pilot with Pan Am. On returning to the U.S. he lived in Wilton, Conn., for high school and New York City for college. He also lived in Los Angeles for many years where he pursued acting and singing. He later was hired by America Online and offered a higher position at AOL in New York City. From there he began writing books, with his first book, “The Metrosexual Guide to Style,” making the New York Times bestseller list. All of his books are available on Amazon.
Following his AOL career, Michael started working at NBC’s online division. This led to an on-camera role as an entertainment reporter in New York City on a local station. Eventually, Michael made his way to D.C. where he worked remotely for an online media company called Stacker.
Obituary
Ted Olson, unlikely marriage equality champion, dies at 84
Conservative attorney led charge to overturn Prop 8 in Calif.
Ted Olson, a Republican lawyer who championed gay rights by leading multiple marriage equality lawsuits, died on Wednesday in Fairfax, Va., after suffering a stroke. He was 84.
As a lifelong conservative, Olson served as assistant attorney general in the Justice Department under President Ronald Reagan and represented President George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election recount case that went before the U.S. Supreme Court. He later served as solicitor general in the Bush administration.
Despite his conservative roots, Olson became a steadfast advocate of marriage equality, leading the legal fight to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage, which voters had approved through Proposition 8 in 2008.
Together with Democratic lawyer David Boies, his former legal adversary in Bush v. Gore, Olson successfully argued before a California district court that Prop 8 was unconstitutional. After a series of legal challenges, the Supreme Court in 2013 upheld the district court ruling, allowing same-sex marriages to resume in California and invalidating part of a federal law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
Olson and Boies in 2013 also challenged the constitutionality of Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage. That same year, Olson broke with his party by publicly supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit employers from discriminating against LGBTQ workers.
“I feel very, very strongly that this country ought to stop discriminating against our citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation,” he told the Washington Blade in 2013. “It is unfair, it’s unreasonable, it’s unacceptable. It serves no purpose and it does a great deal of harm.”
In a career that spans almost sixty years, Olson argued 65 cases in front of the Supreme Court, according to his law firm, Gibson Dunn. He was often seen as a potential candidate for Supreme Court justice.
He represented Citizens United in a landmark 2010 Supreme Court case that removed limits on political contributions by corporations and labor unions. In 2020 he successfully argued against then-President Donald Trump’s attempt to deport “Dreamers” — undocumented minors whose parents brought them into the U.S.
Olson is survived by his wife, Lady Booth Olson, and two children.
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