Felicia Fontaine, 68, one of Huntsville's early gay-rights leaders, died at her Huntsville home on Nov. 30.  Her funeral service will be at 4 PM on Dec. 10 at Berryhill Funeral Home, with visitation from 2:00 - 4:00.

A native of Johnson City, Tenn., she is survived by her spouse, Barb Collins, her father Harry Fontaine Sr., her brother Harry "Buddy" Fontaine Jr. (Jane), her stepdaughter Carol Collins, and granddaughters Heather Byrom and Elizabeth Iverson. She was preceded in death by her mother, Phyliss Dampier Fontaine.

She was a graduate of Milligan College and attended Memphis State University, where she studied counseling psychology. She and Collins met in Memphis, and were together for 42 years. They moved to Huntsville in 1982. She helped start Samaritan Family Services for the LGBT community in 1988, and was the first director. She was also active with the local National Organization for Women chapter.

She was an ordained minister of the Metropolitan Community Church and a licensed counselor. In 1999 she and Collins were part of a group who met with Rev. Jerry Falwell and other anti-gay conservatives, to discuss how to reduce hostility toward gays. In 2003 she drew nationwide media coverage for her private conversation with Alabama's then-Chief Justice Roy Moore, who had called homosexuality "an inherent evil." In 2005, Equality Alabama gave her and Collins a lifetime achievement award for all their work.

By that time, she had been living with multiple sclerosis for a decade. The MS forced her to retire as an active minister and counselor, but she was a gay-rights advocate to the end. When same-sex marriage became legal nationwide in 2015, she went from courthouse to courthouse in north Alabama with a young female couple until they got a marriage license. Then she conducted their wedding.

Visitation will be Saturday, December 10th from 2:00 - 4:00 PM at Berryhill Funeral Home, followed by service at 4:00 with Helene Loper officiating.