Meghan Buell, Founder of Indiana Trans Organization, Dead at 58

Meghan Buell, founder of Transgender Resources, Education and Enrichment Services, or TREES, based in South Bend, Ind., has died at age 58.

Buell died August 8, the executive board of TREES announced, according to the South Bend Tribune.No cause of death was disclosed.

She founded TREES in 2015 to improve resources for trans people in underserved areas and to combat high rates of suicide and anti-trans violence. The organization opened a drop-in center, TREE House, in South Bend last year, but it is slated to close by the end of November.

However, the work Buell began will continue, said a statement from the executive board. “Those who were fortunate enough to know Meghan knew of her tireless work for inclusivity, equality, and social justice,” the statement said. “We ask that you carry forth her vision and love in your everyday actions. Meghan’s work has planted seeds of acceptance, celebration, and visibility for transgender people. These seeds will branch out farther than we will ever know. Meghan never planned to leave us this way, so it is our job to continue her legacy.”

Buell, assigned male at birth, came out as a trans woman in 2003. “The happiest moment in my life was the day I was able to stand up and say, ‘I am transgender,’ because it was at that point my life was not confusing, and I had focus and direction in it,” she said in an oral history recorded by the University of Kentucky Libraries in 2018.

Buell was a substitute teacher in elementary schools and often lectured at colleges. She authored a memoir, The Road to Me: A Transgender Journey. She was also an enthusiastic amateur golfer who volunteered with the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour.