JOHN JAMES VASEY
This was reported in the Community News, August 1994 – an unsung hero
OREGON MAN DONATES FARM TO HRCF
Washington, DC (July 20, 1994) John James Vasey lived in a hotel for transients in Oregon. He led a quiet life, and before his death in 1992, few who knew him at were aware that he was rich, or that he was gay. When Vasey became ill with leukemia in imam the early 1980s, be decided to write a will. In it, he left an estate worth several hundred thousand dollars, including an Illinois farm – which he donated to a national gay organization.
As he contemplated his will Vasey called William Shepherd, an attorney about whom he had read in the local Portland gay press. Shepherd and his wife were the founders Parents of Gays in Oregon, a support group for families of lesbians and gay men. Shepherd helped Vasey draft his will, in which the donor laid out his plans to find the fight to end discrimination against lesbians and gay men. As his executor, Vasey chose another prominent activist, Jerry Weller, who served at the time as co-chair of the Board of Directors of the Gay Rights National Lobby. Welles never met Vasey, and always assumed the man was poor. Vasey named Shepherd to be the trustee of the farm in Illinois, with the understanding that it would be turned over to the Gay Rights National Lobby, which could then sell it.
“This is an extraordinary act of generosity,” notes Tim McFeeley, executive director of the Campaign Fund. “Mr. Vasey’s decision to contribute his farm to the Gay Rights National Lobby was directly related to his high regard for the work of Jerry Weller and GRNL. Jerry’s incredible work for lesbian and gay Americans inspired Mr. Vasey to do something himself. His financial support will enable us to continue the fight to end discrimination and secure full equality for lesbian and gay Americans.
Weller was honored by the Human Rights Campaign Fund at an event in Portland, Oregon on Saturday July 16th. In addition to his service on the Board of the Gay Rights National Lobby, Weller also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign Fund when it was founded in 1980. “Jerry Weller has made a tremendous contribution to the gay and lesbian community in Oregon and nationally We wanted to let him know how appreciated be is, “McFeeley said.