Aleta Jean Ballard Fenceroy (December 27, 1948 – September 23, 2006) was an American musician, computer programmer, and activist. A church organist by profession, she was also co-publisher of ''Fenceberry'', an early internet newsletter of LGBT information.

Early life

Aleta Jean Ballard was born in

Princeton, Illinois Princeton is a city in and the county seat of Bureau County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,832 at the 2020 census. Princeton is part of the Ottawa, Illinois, Ottawa Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, Micropolitan Statistic ...

, the daughter of M. Stanley Ballard and Letha Sidebottom Ballard. Her father was a Methodist clergyman and a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran. She graduated from Riceville High School in 1964. She studied music at Morningside College, and earned an MFA in organ performance from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. In 1998 she earned an associate's degree in computer programming from

Western Iowa Tech Community College Western Iowa Tech Community College (WITCC or WIT) is a public community college with five campuses in northwestern Iowa. The main campus is located in Sioux City; the other campuses are located in Mapleton, Le Mars, Denison and Cherokee. The ...

.Highleyman, Liz
"Lesbian Activist Aleta Fenceroy Dies"
''Bay Area Reporter'' (September 28, 2006), via GLBT Historical Society, Online Searchable Obituary Database.

Career

Fenceroy worked at the Iowa Department of Corrections, and was an application developer at First Data Resources in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. She was also a church organist for 30 years in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

. She sang with, and was accompanist for, the River City Mixed Chorus in Omaha. She was also musical director of shows at the Lamb Productions Dinner Theatre in Sioux City, and composed music for children's shows at Lamb Productions' Hot Dog Theater. In 1990s, Fenceroy and her partner, Jean Mayberry, were described as "the most visible homosexual people in Sioux City". Fenceroy served on the Sioux City School District's educational equity committee. She and Mayberry started a newsletter of LGBT information. It was originally a printed newsletter, assembled and distributed locally from their home in Iowa City, but in 1993, they started a daily email-based version, called ''Fenceberry'' based on their surnames. From 1993 to 2004, their subscriber base grew to more than a thousand readers. "It didn't start out as service for other people," Mayberry explained. "We wanted the information ourselves." In 1999 they were named as "an indispensable part of gay politics" in ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'''s "Our Best and Brightest Activists" feature. They were never paid for the project, and decided to retire the service in 2004, to turn their attention to other projects, including the John Kerry presidential campaign.

Personal life

Aleta Ballard and James Fenceroy married in the 1960s; they had two children, Michelle and Jeremy. She and the children lived in Norway for four years in the 1970s. She and Mayberry were among the 2000 couples unofficially married by

Troy Perry Troy Deroy Perry Jr. (born July 27, 1940) is an American cleric who founded the Metropolitan Community Church, with a ministry with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, in Los Angeles on October 6, 1968. Early life Troy Pe ...

at a mass ceremony on the steps of the

Internal Revenue Service Building The Internal Revenue Service Building is a federal building which serves as the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service. It is located at 1111 Constitution Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C. (corner of 12th Street), in the Federal Triangl ...

during the March on Washington in 1993. She died in 2006, at the age of 57, from cancer.

References

External links

A 1998 photo of Jean Mayberry and Aleta Fenceroy
on Flickr
A 1996 photo of Jean Mayberry and Aleta Fenceroy
with Alan Light and Kevin Blaesing, on Flickr {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenceroy, Aleta 1948 births 2006 deaths American activists American women activists Morningside University alumni University of Minnesota alumni American organists American women organists