JOE TOM EASLEY

EASLEY--Joe Tom, 81, on February 13, 2022. He died peacefully in a hospital near his home in Miami Beach of complications of lung disease, with his adoring husband of 39 years, Peter Freiberg, holding his hand. Talented legal lecturer, dedicated LGBT and human rights activist, he was an extraordinary man whose aim in life was to do good -- and he succeeded. His parents, Lady Hampton and Tom Lee Easley, imbued him with both idealism and confidence. Having moved from a small Texas farming community to the iconic border city of Eagle Pass, they bought him a Harley-Davidson at age 10 (this was Texas, after all!), which he rode safely through high school. A graduate of Texas A&M, he was drafted during the Vietnam War and joined Naval Intelligence. After a year, a former friend told the military that Joe Tom was gay. His commander in Adak, Alaska said he was required to kick Joe Tom out, but because of his exemplary service would ensure he got an honorable discharge and veteran benefits. The military then paid for his three years at University of Texas Law School, where he became a prominent antiwar activist and during summers joined the first group of Ralph Nader's "Nader Raiders" looking into government and corporate malfeasance. Years later, Joe Tom helped lead the LGBT group that won repeal in 2010 of the homophobic Don't Ask Don't Tell Pentagon policy, finally allowing LGBTs to serve openly. He was a pioneering board co-chair of Lambda Legal, aiding in the transformation of that group into an LGBT legal powerhouse. The breadth of his work is astonishing: Among others, a civil rights project in Atlanta; investigating drug company price fixing in Europe; doing wills for people with AIDS; and joining the leadership of the Miami Design Preservation League. In 2003, he and Peter went to Toronto to legally marry, which became the first same-sex wedding written up in the New York Times. In 2005, he gained national attention, including a Page 1 article in the Times, when he surmounted numerous obstacles to bring an Iraqi boy injured by an American bomb to the U.S for medical treatment. Through it all, even when wheelchair-bound his last three years, he retained his optimism, his sense of humor, his famed storytelling ability, his lifelong love of books and country music -- our favorite song was "I Could Waltz Across Texas With You" -- and his capacity to enjoy life in South Beach and at his Hudson Valley summer home. His death left his husband bereft -- and his family and many friends worldwide distraught -- but with so many, many memories that will last their lifetimes. Memorial services to be announced. Contributions in his memory can be made to Lambda Legal, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum or the National Parks Foundation.