Name
Theron McGriff
Biography
Theron Wayne McGriff was born on July 14th, 1963 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and grew up on a farm in nearby Star City. He went through a difficult and precedent setting court case for custody of his two children, Callan and Payton. At the time of the interview, he had no relationship with his one older sister due to her behavior during the custody case. Theron met, dated and quickly married his ex-wife, Shawn, in their late twenties. She divorced him after they moved to Idaho Falls and one year later he started dating his partner, Nick Case. He has since had a significant impact on his community. Along with some friends, he started an HIV/AIDS black tie fundraising event. He became the first president of the resulting event organization, Breaking Boundaries. His work with Breaking Boundaries, Pride Foundation, the precedent setting court case and his support of people going through similar cases across the country, have led to a great deal of deserved recognition. This ranges from the mayor’s choice award for their 4th of July Breaking Boundaries parade float to the President’s Call to Service Award and the National LGBT Bar Association and the Lavender Law Association’s Pioneering LGBT Parents Award. He feels that, “You don’t need to explain who and what you are. If people have an issue with it, it’s that, it’s their issue.” The background noise throughout the interview is the breaking down of the previous night’s 10th anniversary Breaking Boundaries event which drew 400 people and raised approximately $35,000. His relationship with his daughters, Nick and the impact of the custody case are woven throughout the interview.
Keywords
Custody, HIV/AIDS, Breaking Boundaries, INL, Pride, Pride Foundation, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Mayor’s cultural awareness committee
Interview Date
12-3-2011
Interview Duration
2:02
City
Idaho Falls
Rights Management
This material is copyrighted by Special Collections and Archives, Boise State University
Disciplines
Gender and Sexuality | History of Gender | Oral History | Sociology | United States History