Heather MacAllister, a burlesque performer and activist for heavy people, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and other groups she viewed as oppressed, died Feb. 13 in Portland, Ore.
Ms. MacAllister was 38 and had ovarian cancer, though she ended her life through assisted suicide, surrounded by friends.
In addition to her activism, Ms. MacAllister created the Big Burlesque and the Fat Bottom Revue, a San Francisco burlesque show for larger women, after she moved from Detroit in 2002. The revue received favorable reviews.
In 2005, actor Leonard Nimoy photographed Ms. MacAllister and her troupe for a New York City art show, and she received the Queer Cultural Activist Award from the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club in 2006.
Last summer, after being been diagnosed with cancer, she moved to Portland, where she was joined by her partner, Kelli Dunham, who came from the East Coast to take care of Ms. MacAllister until her death.
Ms. MacAllister was born in Michigan and grew up in Dearborn and Ann Arbor. She earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology and African American studies from Eastern Michigan University in 1998. From 2000 to 2002, she worked as a field organizer for the Triangle Foundation, a gay rights group in Michigan.
Even Ms. MacAllister's close friends said they did not realize how many people she had affected. Memorial services have been held in Portland, Detroit, New York and San Francisco.
In addition to her advocacy for heavy people through the burlesque show, Ms. MacAllister lobbied City Hall to pass an anti-weight discrimination law in San Francisco.
In addition to her partner, she is survived by her grandmother, Doris Simion of Dearborn, Mich.; and her sisters, Hope MacAllister of Phoenix and Holly Jones of South Carolina.
Two memorial services for MacAllister will take place this weekend in San Francisco. The first happens at 7 p.m. today at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 678 Portola Drive; then at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, a bagpipe funeral procession begins at Precita Park in Bernal Heights and continues to El Rio bar, where she was well known. That service runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Ms. MacAllister requested before her death that donations be made to Heather's Fat Fashion Scholarship Fund, care of Carole Cullum, Cullum & Sena Law Offices, 1390 Market St., Suite 818, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Ms. MacAllister was 38 and had ovarian cancer, though she ended her life through assisted suicide, surrounded by friends.
In addition to her activism, Ms. MacAllister created the Big Burlesque and the Fat Bottom Revue, a San Francisco burlesque show for larger women, after she moved from Detroit in 2002. The revue received favorable reviews.
In 2005, actor Leonard Nimoy photographed Ms. MacAllister and her troupe for a New York City art show, and she received the Queer Cultural Activist Award from the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club in 2006.
Last summer, after being been diagnosed with cancer, she moved to Portland, where she was joined by her partner, Kelli Dunham, who came from the East Coast to take care of Ms. MacAllister until her death.
Ms. MacAllister was born in Michigan and grew up in Dearborn and Ann Arbor. She earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology and African American studies from Eastern Michigan University in 1998. From 2000 to 2002, she worked as a field organizer for the Triangle Foundation, a gay rights group in Michigan.
Even Ms. MacAllister's close friends said they did not realize how many people she had affected. Memorial services have been held in Portland, Detroit, New York and San Francisco.
In addition to her advocacy for heavy people through the burlesque show, Ms. MacAllister lobbied City Hall to pass an anti-weight discrimination law in San Francisco.
In addition to her partner, she is survived by her grandmother, Doris Simion of Dearborn, Mich.; and her sisters, Hope MacAllister of Phoenix and Holly Jones of South Carolina.
Two memorial services for MacAllister will take place this weekend in San Francisco. The first happens at 7 p.m. today at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 678 Portola Drive; then at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, a bagpipe funeral procession begins at Precita Park in Bernal Heights and continues to El Rio bar, where she was well known. That service runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Ms. MacAllister requested before her death that donations be made to Heather's Fat Fashion Scholarship Fund, care of Carole Cullum, Cullum & Sena Law Offices, 1390 Market St., Suite 818, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Heather MacAllister, a burlesque performer and activist for heavy people, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and other groups she viewed as oppressed, died Feb. 13 in Portland, Ore.
Ms. MacAllister was 38 and had ovarian cancer, though she ended her life through assisted suicide, surrounded by friends.
In addition to her activism, Ms. MacAllister created the Big Burlesque and the Fat Bottom Revue, a San Francisco burlesque show for larger women, after she moved from Detroit in 2002. The revue received favorable reviews.
In 2005, actor Leonard Nimoy photographed Ms. MacAllister and her troupe for a New York City art show, and she received the Queer Cultural Activist Award from the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club in 2006.
Last summer, after being been diagnosed with cancer, she moved to Portland, where she was joined by her partner, Kelli Dunham, who came from the East Coast to take care of Ms. MacAllister until her death.
Ms. MacAllister was born in Michigan and grew up in Dearborn and Ann Arbor. She earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology and African American studies from Eastern Michigan University in 1998. From 2000 to 2002, she worked as a field organizer for the Triangle Foundation, a gay rights group in Michigan.
Even Ms. MacAllister's close friends said they did not realize how many people she had affected. Memorial services have been held in Portland, Detroit, New York and San Francisco.
In addition to her advocacy for heavy people through the burlesque show, Ms. MacAllister lobbied City Hall to pass an anti-weight discrimination law in San Francisco.
In addition to her partner, she is survived by her grandmother, Doris Simion of Dearborn, Mich.; and her sisters, Hope MacAllister of Phoenix and Holly Jones of South Carolina.
Two memorial services for MacAllister will take place this weekend in San Francisco. The first happens at 7 p.m. today at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 678 Portola Drive; then at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, a bagpipe funeral procession begins at Precita Park in Bernal Heights and continues to El Rio bar, where she was well known. That service runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Ms. MacAllister requested before her death that donations be made to Heather's Fat Fashion Scholarship Fund, care of Carole Cullum, Cullum & Sena Law Offices, 1390 Market St., Suite 818, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Ms. MacAllister was 38 and had ovarian cancer, though she ended her life through assisted suicide, surrounded by friends.
In addition to her activism, Ms. MacAllister created the Big Burlesque and the Fat Bottom Revue, a San Francisco burlesque show for larger women, after she moved from Detroit in 2002. The revue received favorable reviews.
In 2005, actor Leonard Nimoy photographed Ms. MacAllister and her troupe for a New York City art show, and she received the Queer Cultural Activist Award from the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club in 2006.
Last summer, after being been diagnosed with cancer, she moved to Portland, where she was joined by her partner, Kelli Dunham, who came from the East Coast to take care of Ms. MacAllister until her death.
Ms. MacAllister was born in Michigan and grew up in Dearborn and Ann Arbor. She earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology and African American studies from Eastern Michigan University in 1998. From 2000 to 2002, she worked as a field organizer for the Triangle Foundation, a gay rights group in Michigan.
Even Ms. MacAllister's close friends said they did not realize how many people she had affected. Memorial services have been held in Portland, Detroit, New York and San Francisco.
In addition to her advocacy for heavy people through the burlesque show, Ms. MacAllister lobbied City Hall to pass an anti-weight discrimination law in San Francisco.
In addition to her partner, she is survived by her grandmother, Doris Simion of Dearborn, Mich.; and her sisters, Hope MacAllister of Phoenix and Holly Jones of South Carolina.
Two memorial services for MacAllister will take place this weekend in San Francisco. The first happens at 7 p.m. today at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 678 Portola Drive; then at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, a bagpipe funeral procession begins at Precita Park in Bernal Heights and continues to El Rio bar, where she was well known. That service runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Ms. MacAllister requested before her death that donations be made to Heather's Fat Fashion Scholarship Fund, care of Carole Cullum, Cullum & Sena Law Offices, 1390 Market St., Suite 818, San Francisco, CA 94102.
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