Pension rights activist dies at age 49
Lt. Laurel A. Hester, the terminally ill Ocean County (NJ) nvestigator whose battleto pass on her pension to her partner led to wider discussion and useof state domestic partnership laws, died of lung cancer Saturday morning.
The intensely private woman worked for 24 years as an investigator with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Shekept her sexual orientation private throughout her career, fearingretribution and saying it was no one’s business but her own.
Sheonly sought attention in the final three months of her life when shetried to get the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders to award herpension to Stacie Andree, her long-time partner. Andree declined tocomment Saturday when reached by telephone.
The board initiallyrefused Hester’s request, citing the $13,000 cost. It backed down inlate January, less than a month before Hester’s death.
Hester’scase spurred debate about the state’s two-year-old domestic partnershiplaw, which allows, but doesn’t require, local governments to providebenefits to employees’ same-sex partners.