In memoriam: Kip Tiernan

Rosie's Place founder Kip Tiernan died of cancer Saturday, July 2 at her South End apartment. She was 85.

Rosie's Place, the nation's first shelter for homeless women, was just one of Tiernan's many accomplishments, truly making her an unsung hero of the LGBT community.

"Every day of her life she lived for social justice, and the lives she saved were untold," Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino told the Boston Globe. "She always said that someday we will stamp out homelessness, but until that day we have to make sure everyone understands that a homeless person could be one of us. She was a very special person, and there's a big hole in our lives today because Kip's not here. This nation is going to miss Kip Tiernan because of her fight for social justice."

Tiernan spent four decades lobbying for housing and health care, and was involved in several social justice organizations that worked to aid the disadvantaged, including the Greater Boston Food Bank, the Boston Women's Fund, Health Care for the Homeless, the Ethical Policy Institute, and the Poor People's United Fund.

"Kip Tiernan's compassion ran deep and long, and because of that she was not daunted by obstacles that would stop other people from helping others," Greater Boston Food Bank President and CEO Catherine D'Amato said. "When Kip founded Rosie's Place in the late 1970s, she needed a way to feed the women housed at the shelter, so she began carting food out of the back of a station wagon. Out of those early efforts grew The Greater Boston Food Bank, which today feeds as many as 545,000 people, and is one of the largest food banks in the nation."

Sue Marsh, executive director of Rosie's Place, said in a statement she was "so sorry to be saying goodbye to a good friend of mine. ...She has been the fiery, feisty, and beloved touchstone for the mission and vision of Rosie's Place, a compassionate friend to every woman in need."

"Because of Kip, thousands of women have had a place to live when they were at their most vulnerable," D'Amato said. "And because of her, hundreds of thousands of people, including many children and the elderly, have had something to eat when they are hurting and struggling to make ends meet. Kip worked to take the hurt away. Even when she was in her early 80s she attended the annual breakfasts at The Food Bank, and provided inspiration to all of us. We will miss her spirit and keep memories of her in our hearts."

"Kip marched against everything that stood in the way of equal justice for anyone -- LGBT people, poor women and their children, hungry and homeless families. She railed against oppression of any type and had no time for superficialities; lipstick was the first artifice to go," Liz Page remembered of Tiernan. Liz Page Associates produced major fundraising events for Rosie's Place for nine years. "As I designed each program, I always knew to put Kip's speaking role as the highpoint of the event," Page said. "She was an amazing storyteller -- a fearless poet and a raw-edged realist whose words crushed you and motivated you all at once. There was hardly a person in the room who would not hold up their hand to support Rosie's Place after she had told you about the women and the battles they faced. With courage and conviction, Kip forced us to look at the dark places in our own humanity and then inspired us to find our way out."

Tiernan was born in West Haven, Connecticut. Her longtime partner Edith Nicholson passed away in the 1990s. Tiernan is survived by Nicholson's daughter Peg Wright of Saugerties, N.Y.; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren, the Globe reported.

She wed partner of 15 years Donna Pomponio in 2004. "The tragedies in the world continued to propel her to fix things and make them better," Pomponio told the Globe. "She knew that as human beings, we could do better for each other. There was a support and strength that came from that woman, and having her by your side and in your life, you knew that you could do it, too."

A service for Tiernan will be announced.