Longtime partners Ina Mae Murri and Stella Lopez-Armijo died within moments of one another on Saturday, July 17 in southeast Idaho near Preston after they were involved in a car accident.

Ms. Murri, who was 75, was driving to a family reunion when she suffered a massive heart attack and died at the wheel. In a heroic and courageous act, Ms. Lopez-Armijo, who was 76, grabbed the wheel and drove into a pickup truck to avoid pedestrians. She died en route to the hospital. Police said that the driver of the pickup was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Ms. Murri and Ms. Lopez-Armijo lived in Fremont and were original founders and active in Lavender Seniors of the East Bay. The women were together for more than 35 years and were pioneers in recognition for lesbian mothers as well as role models for many in the LGBT community. The couple was also very active in Women Over Fifty and Friends. Ms. Murri was active in Affirmation, an organization for Mormons who believe in the worth of every soul regardless of their sexual or gender orientation. Ms. Lopez-Armijo was Roman Catholic.

"I can't say enough about how much they helped to improve the lives of others," said Dan Ashbrook, director of Lavender Seniors. "Their ties to the community are far reaching which has always been a benefit to Lavender Seniors. They added a great deal of personality to our group programs and outreach activities. There will never be another Ina and Stella. We will miss them incredibly."

Added Bobbie Jarvis, a longtime friend of the couple, "We will miss them both terribly."

Jarvis said that the women met at a Pride Parade in San Francisco 35 years ago.

She said that the women's trip to Idaho was to be their last trip to the annual family reunion of Ms. Murri's siblings.

Jarvis said that the women loved comedy shows. Ms. Lopez-Armijo was the more outgoing – she always had a smile and a joke, Jarvis said – while Ms. Murri would often read from her extensive collection of gay literature.

Ms. Murri was born on January 15, 1935. In an essay she wrote that was published in Peculiar People: Mormons and Same-Sex Orientation, she discussed her life growing up in Newdale, Idaho, a typical small Mormon town. After high school she worked as a nanny in Washington, D.C. In 1955 she enlisted in the Air Force, but wrote that she was discharged after 14 months "as a result of that homosexual friendship."

She then moved to Los Angeles where she attended church regularly and dated men. She married James Sanders in 1960 but they were divorced seven years later. The couple had one son, Eric.

Ms. Murri also worked in the Alameda County Public Library and the lending library for patient services at the Alameda County Hospital.

Ms. Lopez-Armijo was born on March 21, 1934. In an essay she wrote for the 1995 book, From Wedded Wife to Lesbian Life , by Deborah Abbott and Ellen Farmer, she said she was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The family later moved to the Bay Area, not far from where she and Ms. Murri lived for 14 years.

Ms. Lopez-Armijo went to work at Owens-Illinois glass container factory when she was 18. She married Harry Horten and wrote that she had four children in less than four years. The couple later divorced, but remained friends, she wrote.

Ms. Murri is survived by her son Eric Sanders of Hawaii; and several siblings. Ms. Lopez-Armijo is survived by her children, Victoria Richie, Catherine Horten, Christel Cantlin, and Harry Horten III. Both women are also survived by several grandchildren and a couple of great-grandchildren.

"They each loved the children of the other so it was a great big happy household," Jarvis said.

The funeral mass and a reception is being held Friday, July 30 at 10 a.m. at the Transfiguration Catholic Church, 4000 East Castro Valley Boulevard in Castro Valley. The entombment is being held Saturday, July 31 at 2 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 32992 Mission Boulevard in Hayward. A memorial service was held in Preston, Idaho on July 23.

In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to the Fisher House; Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; or Lavender Seniors of the East Bay.