Laurie Wood never thought marriage was going to be her issue.
Reared in American Fork, the 59-year-old English teacher was no stranger to gay-rights activism. She had fought for a gay-straight alliance at East High and on behalf of a gay teacher who sued the Nebo School District to keep her job.
Wood also had campaigned against Utah's Amendment 3 and protested against California's anti-same-sex marriage Proposition 8, but never imagined a more personal role in the push for marriage equality.
"I didn't know that there would be someone I would want to marry," said the Utah Valley University associate professor of English.
Then she met Kody Partridge, also an English teacher with an activist heart, at the annual Equality Utah Allies Dinner in 2010. It took only a few dates for both women to know they belonged together.
"All the people in my life taught me to be prickly … and I had my spines out. She just hugged me anyway," Wood said. "[Kody] taught me how to love, and I thought I was too old to learn."
For the Wyoming-born Partridge, 48, who came to Utah to attend Brigham Young University, Wood is the person who "grounds me, makes me laugh and walks me to school every day" from their Salt Lake City home to Partridge's job at nearby Rowland Hall.
When the invitation to join the Kitchen v. Herbert lawsuit came in early 2013, there was no question about what to do, the couple said.
"It was important," Wood said.
On Dec. 20, 2013, when news that U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby had overturned Utah's ban on gay marriage lit up their phones and email accounts, the couple rushed to the Salt Lake County Government Center to wed, leaving their just-purchased groceries on the kitchen floor.
Wood and Partridge had sought a marriage license from the county once before — a few days before their lawsuit was filed in March 2013. On that day, they say, the clerk checked their application and looked at the driver licenses before politely saying that their union simply wasn't legal in Utah at the time.
"But she said, 'Hold on to this, you never know when the laws might change,' " Partridge recalled.
That same clerk recognized the couple when she saw them back at the counter Dec. 20, 2013.
"She winked and smiled at us," Partridge explained, "and said, 'I guess you didn't have to wait as long as you thought.' "
After a year of marriage, Wood said she feels a sense of permanence she had not previously known, even though she'd had longer relationships.
She also loves being called "wife." The word carries weight and meaning that clearly define the couple's ties.
"I like being able to know and speak what my relationship is," said Wood, who will retire in the spring. "It's a kind of a shorthand to the world of where you are."
Lennie Mahler | The Salt Lake Tribune Moudi Sbeity, Derek Kitchen, Laurie Wood Kody Partridge, plaintiffs in Kitchen v. Herbert, listen during a program on the anniversary of Judge Robert J. Shelby's ruling that overturned same-sex marriage ban in Utah. The celebration was held at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014.
Lennie Mahler | The Salt Lake Tribune Moudi Sbeity, Derek Kitchen, Laurie Wood Kody Partridge, plaintiffs in Kitchen v. Herbert, listen during a program on the anniversary of Judge Robert J. Shelby's ruling that overturned same-sex marriage ban in Utah. The celebration was held at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014.
Lennie Mahler | The Salt Lake Tribune Moudi Sbeity, Derek Kitchen, Laurie Wood Kody Partridge, plaintiffs in Kitchen v. Herbert, listen during a program on the anniversary of Judge Robert J. Shelby's ruling that overturned same-sex marriage ban in Utah. The celebration was held at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014.
Lennie Mahler | The Salt Lake Tribune Kody Partridge and Laurie Wood, plaintiffs in Kitchen v. Herbert, speak on the anniversary of Judge Robert J. Shelby's ruling that overturned the ban on gay marriage in Utah. The celebration was held at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014.
Brennan Linsley | The Associated Press Plaintiffs challenging Utah's gay marriage ban, from left, Derek Kitchen, his partner Moudi Sbeity, Kate Call, her partner Karen Archer, Laurie Wood and her partner Kody Partridge stand together after leaving court following a hearing at the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver in April. The court is to decide if it agrees with a federal judge in Utah who in mid-December overturned a 2004 voter-passed gay marriage ban, saying it violates gay and lesbian couples' rights to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Plaintiffs Laurie Wood and Kody Partridge, left, Kate Call, third from left, (Karen Archer did not attend) and Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity, right, join Utah Unites for Marriage at City Creek Park in Salt Lake City, Utah Wednesday, June 25, 2014, to celebrate the historic decision in Kitchen v. Herbert and stepping-stone toward the freedom to marry.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Plaintiffs Kody Partridge, second from left, and Laurie Wood, right, stand for photographs as they join Utah Unites for Marriage at City Creek Park in Salt Lake City, Utah Wednesday, June 25, 2014, to celebrate the historic decision in Kitchen v. Herbert and stepping-stone toward the freedom to marry.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Excited couples Laurie Wood, top left, and Kody Partridge, and Moudi Sbeity, top right, and Derek Kitchen address the media during a press conference at Magleby and Greenwood law offices in Salt Lake City, Monday, October 6, 2014.
Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Attorney Peggy Tomsic speaks in front of plaintiffs Kody Partridge, Laurie Wood, Derek Kitchen, Moudi Sbeity and Kate Call at a rally to celebrate today's legalization of same-sex marriage, Monday October 6, 2014 in Salt Lake City.
Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Kitchen v. Herbert plaintiffs Kody Partridge, Laurie Wood, Derek Kitchen, Moudi Sbeity and Kate Call at a rally to celebrate today's legalization of same-sex marriage, Monday October 6, 2014 in Salt Lake City.
DENVER, CO. - APRIL 10: Utah Plantiffs Laurie Wood, fourth from left, embraces her partner, Kody Partridge, right, as fellow plaintiffs, Moudi Sbeity, left, hugs Kate Call and Kate's partner, Karen Archer, third from left, outside of the Byron White U.S. Courthouse after a press conference Thursday morning, April 10, 2014 after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit listened to oral arguments on the gay marriage ban in Utah. (Photo By Andy Cross / The Denver Post)
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Kody Patridge & Laurie Wood near the Lion sculpture named ÒPatienceÓ outside the Utah State Capitol building, Sunday, December 21, 2014.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Moudi Sbeity, left, makes a photo of his husband Derek Kitchen, and Kody Patridge & Laurie Wood, far right, at the Utah State Capitol building, Sunday, December 21, 2014.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Kody Patridge & Laurie Wood at the Utah State Capitol building, Sunday, December 21, 2014.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Plaintiffs Laurie Wood and Kody Partridge listen to speakers as they join Utah Unites for Marriage at City Creek Park in Salt Lake City, Utah Wednesday, June 25, 2014, to celebrate the historic decision in Kitchen v. Herbert and stepping-stone toward the freedom to marry.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Peggy Tomsic, lawyer for the three same sex couples who were plaintiffs in the 2013 lawsuit versus Utah, raises her fist as she celebrates the ruling outside her offices in Salt Lake City, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. Tomsic said: (the ruling) "affirms the fundamental principles of equality and fairness and the common humanity of gay and lesbian people." In the background are, left to right, Derek Kitchen, Moudi Sbeity, Kate Call, and Laurie Wood.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Laurie Wood, left, and Kody Partridge, right react after being told that they are officially married by the Rev. Curtis L. Price in the lobby of the Salt Lake County offices, Friday December 20, 2013.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Laurie Wood, left, and Kody Partridge, kiss after being told that they are officially married by the Rev. Curtis L. Price in the lobby of the Salt Lake County offices, Friday December 20, 2013.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Kody Partridge, center, reacts by letting out a yell after she was able to get a marriage license for she and her partner Laurie Wood, right to be married. Their friend Kellyn Maves, a former student at Rowland Hall hugs Partridge at left. They were later married by the Rev. Curtis L. Price in the lobby of the Salt Lake County offices, Friday December 20, 2013.
David Daniels | Courtesy Kody Partridge, left, and Laurie Wood.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Laurie Wood, left, Kody Patridge, center, and attorney James E. Magleby, right, enter U.S. District Court, Wednesday December 4, 2013. Magleby, with attorney Peggy A. Tomsic, is representing Wood and Patridge and two other couples who challenged Utah's ban on same-sex marriage. The case will be before the 10th Circuit Court on April 10. The panel that will hear the case is described as "slightly" conservative, according to analysts.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Moudi Sbeity, Derek Kitchen, Kate Call, (Karen Archer did not attend), Laurie Wood and Kody Partridge, (left to right) who were plaintiffs in the original suit versus Utah, attend a press conference with their attorney Peggy Tomsic to comment on the 10th circuit court's ruling on their lawsuit in Salt Lake City, Wednesday, June 25, 2014.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Moudi Sbeity, Derek Kitchen, Laurie Wood and Kody Partridge, (left to right) two of the three couples who were plaintiffs in the original suit versus Utah, attend a press conference with their attorney Peggy Tomsic to comment on the 10th circuit court's ruling on their lawsuit in Salt Lake City, Wednesday, June 25, 2014.
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