Charles Rex Arbogast / AP

AP Caption: Vernita Gray, left, and Patricia Ewert, hold their Illinois marriage license at their home in Chicago following their marriage by a Cook County judge.

They were the first couple to be married after the gay marriage law was signed by the governor. Ewert and Gray, were granted an exception to marry before Illinois' law formally took effect because Gray was terminally ill with cancer. They married in November 2013 and Gray died the following March, three months before the law went into effect. Ewert says the Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriages across the country Friday June 26, 2015 is a victory her late wife is no doubt celebrating in heaven.