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Laurel Anne Hester (August 15, 1956 – February 18, 2006) was a police lieutenant with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey, who rose to national attention with her deathbed appeal for the extension of pension benefits to her domestic partner. Her battle was shown in ''Freeheld'' (2007), the winner of the Academy Award for Best Short Documentary, and the feature film of the same name (2015), in which Hester is portrayed by Julianne Moore. ==Life and career== She was born in Elgin, Illinois, and grew up in Florham Park, the daughter of Diana (1922–1995) and George Hester (1919–1992). She has two brothers, George II and James, and a sister, real-estate agent Lynda (Hester) D'Orio. She earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and psychology from Stockton State College. While in school, she helped to start the first LGBT group on campus, which caused controversy there. She served as president, but used a pseudonym so no one outside of the group would know she was gay. Her name eventually was attached to an LGBT news article, and she was outed to the school as a lesbian. Her first position in law enforcement was in North Wildwood, New Jersey. After two summers working as a seasonal officer, she was told she would not be hired for a third because she was gay. As a child her family often summered at the Jersey Shore, hence Hester wanted to return and work in the area.〔(Laurel Hester obituary ) accessed March 22, 2015〕 Laurel Hester was a 23-year veteran of the Ocean County prosecutor's office, where she worked on a variety of cases, when she was struck down by rapidly spreading lung cancer. She was one of the first women to achieve rank of Lieutenant in her department and was greatly respected by her fellow officers. She met her future partner in the early 2000s, Stacie Leigh Andree (born 1975) who was 19 years younger than Hester.〔(Stacie Andree public record ) Retrieved July 22, 2015〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Laurel Hester」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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