A Tale Of Two Barbaras

It appears that there are two Barbara Johnsons in Maryland - both lesbians and living in the DC metropolitan area.  We bloggers (of all viewpoints) seem to have been conflating the two.  This one from Metro Weekly, while speaking of the funeral incident, has as its second footnote an article that is really about the different Barbara Johnson.  Other blogs (including this one) have cited that article.

It's an article called "Still Laughing".  This article links a Barbara Johnson with a Kathleen DeBold.  Note that the article is written in 2005 and states their ages at that time to be 49 years.  Today in 2012, they'd be 56 years old.  There is a picture of them that suggests that this Barbara Johnson has long blond hair.   This article from QNotes has the same picture, and it confirms who in fact that Barbara Johnson is.  The article seems to intimate that this is the Barbara Johnson who wrote the lesbian-oriented books.  This Barbara Johnson is not the same one who was at St John Neumann Church last month.

Here is an obituary of the deceased parishioner of St John Neumann.  Note that it links her daughter Barbara with a Ruth Gresser.  We've also seen numerous interviews and such that state her current age to be 51 years old - that is, 5 years younger than the other Barbara.  Moreover, this coverage on the March 17th New Ways Dissent Fest Symposium makes plain that the woman who blocked Father Guarnizo in the sacristy is Ruth Gresser.  The next post will deal with that symposium as its own topic.