We met in 1991 in Fire Island Pines and have been together ever since. Like many LGBTQ couples who wanted to protect their rights and express their intentions, we entered into a domestic partnership, had a civil union and ultimately married as the law evolved.
We moved from Manhattan to Maplewood in 2003 when our son was 2 ½, just in time for pre-school. We were in search of an open and welcoming community in which to raise our child, a place where being an LGBTQ headed household would be a non-issue. In Manhattan, our son had been the only child in the school with 2 moms. In our New Jersey suburban synagogue based pre-school, he was one of 3 kids in his class with 2 moms. Throughout our son’s years in the South Orange Maplewood public school system he always had at least 1 other student in his class with 2 moms or 2 dads. Our family enjoyed our first Maplewood home for 10 years and then moved into our current home in South Orange.
Through the years we have consistently supported the LGBTQ community both nationally and locally through our work with the Family Equality Council. We are members of The Protector’s Circle, we host Fundraising Events, and Fran is a former board member and member of the Emeritus Board. We also help sponsor North Jersey Pride events.
Amongst the clients we have helped find homes throughout the years, many have been LGBTQ. You can read more about our family in the 2018-2019 Gay Parent Magazine New York issue (page 13).