St. Petersburg – Google the name “Edith Windsor” and you get pages upon pages of articles about the woman who stood up to the federal government to have her marriage recognized—and won! Google images shows her photographed with the president, out celebrities and a collection of images from a documentary about her marriage, Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement. A Facebook page dedicated to her has nearly 2,000 “likes.”
She’s the woman credited with overturning the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act preventing recognition of same-sex marriages in the United States. She was the grand marshal of New York City’s 2013 Pride celebration.
And on May 3, Windsor will be the guest of honor at Equality Florida’s St. Petersburg Gala held at the Mahaffey Theater.
But to Marge Sherwin, 73, and Rose Walton, 77, of Treasure Island, she’s just Edie, their longtime pal.
“It’s weird,” Shewin said when asked what it’s like to be close friends to a hero. “We think of Edie as our friend. When people go, ‘can I touch her?’ I just say, ‘It’s Edie!’ But I can say this: Edie has stayed Edie throughout this entire thing. She has never changed and it’s amazing to me as I watch this.”
Walton agrees with her wife.
“Edie is a very strong woman,” she said.
Walton and Sherwin began their relationship in 1975 in St. Petersburg and met Windsor and her late wife Thea Spyer when they were involved with the civic organization EEGO (East End Gay Organization) in New York.
“She and Thea had the opening of summer party on Memorial Day each year at their house,” Walton said. “They were always involved in the organization and so were we. So we got to know both of them well.”
Front row seat to history
In June of 2013, Sherwin and Walton were doing what most LGBTs in America were doing—closely watching news coverage out of Washington D.C. and hoping the Supreme Court would rule the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.
When Spyer died in 2009 the federal government ordered Windsor—two years after legally marrying Spyer in Canada—to pay $363,000 in estate taxes because it did not recognize the couple’s marriage. Windsor appealed and took the case to the Supreme Court, where images of her on the Court’s steps, arms outstretched celebrating victory, appeared in newspapers and websites around the world.
The victory was a personal one for the LGBT community. But it was even more personal for Walton and Sherwin, because it was their friend celebrating her victory on the news.
“I wanted to hug Edie right then,” Walton recalled.
“I was in tears,” Sherwin said.”You sit there, you scream a little, we were crying. We just kept saying, ‘Oh my God! Look what she’s done!’ And we called all of our friends.”
If anyone could change the world, both women knew it would be Edith Windsor. But seeing their long-time friend on national television while overturning legislation to pave the way for marriage equality was surreal.
“One person does change the world,” Sherwin said. “There is no question in my mind.”
The late Spyer, Walton believes, would have been proud of her wife and the progress made in her honor.
“But of course, had Thea lived, none of this could have happened,” she said.
Soon after the Supreme Court decision, Windsor was an icon for equality, speaking at large events, embracing politicians and appearing as grand marshal of the New York City Pride parade—an experience Sherwin shared with her dear friend.
“I had asked a few people to go with me to the Pride march but none could go,” Sherwin recalled. “So I call up Edie and told her I was coming and she invited me to stay at her apartment. The night before Pride, Edie wanted to go to the Dyke March, which began as a rebel thing but now gets the support of the cops. Anyway, we walk from her apartment to 14th Street and one of the women asks a cop if we can join in the march. At first he refuses until she points to Edie and says, “But that’s Edie Windsor!’ He says, “Okay, come on through.'”
During the actual Pride festivities, Sherwin stayed close to Windsor most of the day—until they arrived in the VIP tent.
“I never do this, but I spotted Harry Belafonte—I adore Harry Belafonte,” Sherwin said. “I went up to him and told him I’m a great fan and ask for a picture with him. He grabs me for the picture then kisses and hugs Edie. He’s a marvelous, marvelous man.”
Sherwin soon found herself in the middle of the staging area for the annual parade and standing next to the car scheduled to carry the grand marshal herself through the streets of New York City. Before she could walk away, Sherwin said she was invited to ride with Windsor in the parade.
“Edie’s friend asks the woman running the parade if I can get in the car,” Sherwin laughed. “She says, ‘Sure, just don’t fall out.’ I told the woman sitting next to me in the car that I didn’t want to wave. This was all for Edie. She said, ‘Marge, they’re expecting you to wave. Wave!'”
Political momentum
Walton and Sherwin say the Stonewall riot of 1969 threw their friend into civic activism. Windsor tired of hiding her personal life and her relationship with her partner.
“When she worked at IBM she was closeted, like she says in the documentary,” Sherwin said. “That pin she wears everywhere was her engagement present from Thea because she couldn’t wear a ring. One day she said, ‘This is crazy’ and came out.”
Windsor still wears that pin today.
It’s activism like Windsor’s—and Sherwin’s and Walton’s—that have made sexuality less of an issue in the 21st century, the women believe.
But both women are shocked by the momentous progress the country has seen in the last few years—with marriage equality becoming legal in 17 states.
“The younger generation is the catalyst,” Sherwin said, with a nod of agreement from her wife.
“Absolutely,” Walton added. “They could care less about who we are.”
The women talked about Walton’s nieces, nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews, who visited the night before their interview with Watermark.
“We sat around last night and they’re asking us about when we met and it’s a non-issue,” Sherwin said. “I think the mom turned to the oldest daughter and asked if there were any gay students in her school. She said yeah, and that it’s no big deal.”
That gives both women hope that marriage equality will reach all 50 states within the foreseeable future, thanks in large part to their friend’s victory in Washington, D.C., last summer. But both have different theories as to how equality will finally reach coast-to-coast. Sherwin thinks it will be decided quickly. Walton believes it will take a little more time.
“I think the next Supreme Court case will determine if I’m right,” Sherwin said. “There will be a federal mandate unless Justice Kennedy goes the other way.”
“And I think it will take years, not very many, though,” Walton added. “We’ll see a lot more states legalize marriage. It will take time to get to all 50.”
A weekend getaway
The weekend of May 3—the date of the Equality Florida gala at The Mahaffey Theatre—Walton and Sherwin will welcome Edith Windsor into their home. Windsor, they say, has never seen the large, newly renovated home along a canal and just a block from the Gulf of Mexico, and their guest is looking forward to a little down time during her short stay.
“Originally we planned a party on Friday, brunch on Sunday,” Sherwin said. “But we axed the party and Edie just wants to spend a quiet Sunday with us. She’s so busy she doesn’t get much quiet time.”
And what does Windsor think about what she’s accomplished when she does finally get to sit in silence and reflect upon her place in history?
“Who talks to Edie about what she feels?” Sherwin laughed. “I don’t know how Edie feels. She’s been so wrapped up in this for three years!”
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