Vernita Gray would not have made it to a June wedding.

But on Tuesday (18 March) the longtime LGBTI activist from Chicago died a married woman.

Although same-sex marriages were not due to become legal in Illinois until June, Gray and Patricia Ewert jump-started things when they were allowed to get married in the state on 27 November.

The reason was because the 65-year-old Gray was terminally ill with cancer and a federal judge granted them the right to legally wed six months early.

This led to all same-sex couples being allowed to marry in the state beginning last month.

Gray and Ewert made things official during a civil ceremony in their Chicago home.

On the day of her wedding Gray said in a statement: ”I’m so excited for us and for the community, for today is a beginning. One so richly deserved.’

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn had signed a marriage bill into law earlier that month. But in order to get the support it needed to pass the stage legislature, one of the conditions was that the law would not go into effect until June 2014.

Lambda Legal pointed out that as the couple struggled through that difficult time together, marriage allowed them to not only celebrate their commitment to each other but to also provide protection for Ewert.

Gray was a familiar face at rallies for LGBTI equality with her last appearance coming on 22 October March on Springfield for Marriage Equality, according to Windy City Times.

She owned the popular Sol Sands restaurant in Uptown before going to work in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office where she stayed for 18 years.

In her positon of victim/witness assistant, Gray she helped LGBTI crime survivors and was an outreach worker on LGBTI issues.