Jeanne wrote “It’s the job of the young to push the societal envelope” and she started doing that early and never stopped. Everyone who was touched by Jeanne's life and work knew her as a charismatic activist, and there was no aspect of her life, be it social work, business or journalism that wasn’t defined by what she could do for other lesbians, other Chicanas, other people pushed to society’s margins. And she brought that charisma to everything she did, with a smile and a swagger.
Before she passed away she wrote a Letter About Dying to her community and said: "It is wonderful to have had a life’s cause: freedom and dignity for lesbians. I believe that’s what lesbian feminism is really about, sharing. We built a movement by telling each other our lives and thoughts about the way life should be. We cut against the grain and re-thought almost everything. With just enough left undone for our daughters to re-invent themselves." That legacy has continued to inspire young LGBTQ+ activists, and I'm proud to be the executor of her trust which supports scholarships for writers and journalists, as well as lesbian/queer human rights activism in Mexico/Latin America and Southern Africa.
Jeanne cherished her families - both family of birth and family of choice - and got great joy from bringing people together around our dining room table, wherever we lived. Whether it was to celebrate holidays or to organize political actions! We were partners in life, love and work, and she ended her final letter to the community saying "Least you be too sad, know that I have this kind of love not only with my family ... but with a straight arrow spouse with whom I have journeyed these last twenty-seven years."
- Lynn Harris Ballen, Jeanne Córdova's life partner
