August 13, 1945 — August 4, 2022
Ann Valliant departed this world on August 4, 2022 at the age of 76, due to the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, and benefitted by the availability of California's "End of Life Option."
Ann was an Arkansas farm girl, an accomplished carpenter in 1970s Massachusetts, a business operations consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area beginning in the 1980s, and throughout her life was an eloquent and outspoken political activist.
Ann registered Black voters in Birmingham, Alabama; marched in Montgomery, Alabama; raised funds to rebuild a burned Black church in Mississippi; and taught Spanish to Black elementary school students in Fayetteville, Arkansas, "so they would have some knowledge in middle school that the white students had not yet learned."
By 1968 Ann had become central in Bloomington, Indiana's women's liberation movement, meeting her first woman lover there, Cynthia Hales, who later became a well-respected San Francisco karate instructor. Other lesbian activists Ann met in those years, and who became lifelong friends, include photographer Cathy Cade and Modern Times' Ruth Mahaney.
In 1981, while partnered with Bobbi LaNoue, their son, Loren, was born. Soon after, they separated as partners but committed to continuing to co-parent.
In mid-1980 Ann began to develop her business operations consultant career, which gave her great satisfaction and continued until her retirement in 2020.
Ann departed this world with a peaceful spirit.
To contact family please email [email protected]
Help keep the Bay Area Reporter going in these tough times. To support local, independent, LGBTQ journalism, consider becoming a BAR member.