MONTREAL — A member of the first same-sex couple to be legally joined in a civil union in North America has died.  

Roger Thibault, 77, died Friday in the arms of the man he shared his life with for 50 years. 

His husband, Theo Wouters, says Thibault suffered from Parkinson’s disease hat his conditioned had worsened. 

The couple was united in a civil union in July 2002 after the Quebec government created the new form of legal partnership, distinguished from marriage only by its name, which was open to same sex couples.

Quebec would legalize same sex marriage in 2004, while the federal government would follow in 2005. 

Wouters, 81, says he hopes future generations will remember the couple’s fight against homophobia. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2023. 

The Canadian Press